Love Canal - Niagara Falls, New York
N 43° 04.817 W 078° 56.852
17T E 667077 N 4771774
The FIRST of all Super Fund Sites! Love Canal was brought to the public's attention in the 1970's when President Jimmy Carter issued 2 environmental emergencies to the area.
Waymark Code: WM2R8J
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 12/12/2007
Views: 259
LOVE CANAL: A Timeline
1892: Developer William T. Love begins work on a 7 mile canal to connect upper and lower Niagara River. The project was abandoned as a result of the depression.
1920: The partly dug canal is sold at public auction. It becomes a municipal and chemical waste dump....20, 000 tons of toxic waste.
1953: Hooker Chemical Corp., which buried drums of hazardous waste there, sells it to Niagara Falls Board of Education for $1. The deed transfer includes a note that chemical waste is buried there and a disclaimer absolving Hooker of any liability.
1955: 99th Street School is built and opens on the site. Homes are built nearby.
Mid-1970's: Complaints escalate about foul smells and oozing substances in yards and basements.
Spring 1978: Neighborhood resident Lois Gibbs begins circulating a petition to close the 99th Street School, which her 5 year old son attends.
May 19, 1978: New York State Department of Health begings testing the soil and air in the neighborhood.
August 2, 1978: The Dept. of Health declares a state of emergency. It recommends that pregnant women and children under the age of 2 be evacuated from the 239 homes closest to the dump. The 99th Street School is closed.
August 7, 1978: President Jimmy Carter declares "Love Canal" a federal disaster area.
February 8, 1979: The Dept. of Health issues a second evacuation order for women and children within 10 blocks of the original evacuation zone.
May 17, 1980: US Environmental Protection Agency says blood tests show chromosome damage in Love Canal residents, increasing their risk of cancer and reproduction problems.
May 21, 1980: President Carter agrees to evacuate 900 families.
December 11, 1980: President Carter signs the landmark legislation known as the Superfund to set aside $1.6 billion to pay for hazardous waste cleanups across the country. Love Canal becomes the first cleanup site.
December 20, 1983: Occidental Chemical Corp. (successor to Hooker) settles a lawsuit for $20 million.
September 27, 1988: The Dept. of Health concludes that parts of the cleaned up neighborhood are safe for resettlement.
November 28, 1990: The first family moves into Black Creek Village, the renamed Love Canal neighborhood.
June 22, 1994: Occidental agrees to pay the state $98 million towards cleanup costs.
December 22, 1995: Occidental agrees to pay the federal government $129 million.
October 1997: The Dept. of Health begins tracking down thousands of former residents for the first long term study on the health hazards of the site.
November 12, 1997: Occidental closes the last of its legal cases of Love Canal, winning $300 million from it's insurers to help pay its $1 billion part of the cleanup costs.
March 14, 1998: Cash settlements totaling $6.75 million are distributed to 900 former residents for personal injury damages.
June 24, 1998: The EPA agrees to demolish 63 uninhabitable homes in the Love Canal area.
August 2, 2003: Celebrations are held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first Love Canal evacuation.
Late 2003: The Dept. of Health is to release it's study on the health of former residents.
Reproduced from The Buffalo News July 27, 2003.
September 30, 2004: The site was deemed "Clean" and deleted from the National Priorities List.
ID: NYD000606947
Site Name: Love Canal
Link to Site: [Web Link]
Additional Parking: N 43° 05.033 W 008° 18.950
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