Despite the many hazardous waste sites that have caused problems in the United States in recent years, Love Canal may still be the most infamous. The site was originally an unfinished canal that was constructed in the 1890’s. The land was sold in 1920 and began to be used as a dump site for Chemical waste produced by Hooker Chemical Corporation. The site was also used by the United States Army and it is believed that waste from the Manhattan project was deposited in the canal along with the industrial byproducts dumped by Hooker.

    The land was sold in 1953 to the Board of Education for 1 dollar and for the inexpensive price Hooker Chemical was assured no future liability for the site. A school was constructed on the site in 1954 and homebuilding soon followed. By the late 1970’s people began to know something was wrrong in Love Canal mainly due to the strange odors and chemicals that would seep up through the soil. The Calspan Company conducted initial tests in the area in 1976 discovering numerous toxic waste hazards. Recommendations were made for their removal and containment, but were ignored by the city. In March of 1978 The New York State Department of Health stepped in and found high rates of birth defects in the area along with the dangerous waste. The problem was so bad that President Carter issued environmental emergencies and evacuated all 950 families in a 10 block radius.       

    Our project will focus on the issue of the cleanup, its success and its failures. The government allowed this site to be covered and sold as residential property without notifying the residents of the potentially deadly chemicals beneath their homes. Love Canal is an excellent example of how private markets have negatively effected people and the environment.

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