Latest news with #LoveCanal
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Residents of toxic town Love Canal suffered devastating deformities after chemical dumping
The residents of the now deserted toxic town of Love Canal in upstate New York suffered miscarriages, birth defects, and diseases including cancer in a horrific environmental disaster. Love Canal was built as a model town in 1890 on a three-block patch of land on the eastern edge of Niagara Falls, and is named after its founder William T Love. A few years later work began on a canal to link lakes Erie and Ontario, but it was abandoned after only one mile was dug. In the 1940s the canal was bought by the Hooker Chemical Company, which made dyes, perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resins. Between 1942 to 1953 the company used the canal as a landfill and dumped around 22,000 tons of toxic byproducts there. Love Canal was sold to the Niagara Falls City School District for 1$ in 1953, and developed into a 'charming' rural neighborhood. After leaving the site, the Hooker Chemical Company, which closed in 1968, covered the 16-acre hazardous waste landfill with a 2ft bed of clay, and around 100 homes and a public school were built on top of this. Eckardt Beck, an administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency visited the area in 1979, and reported meeting one woman who had two grandchildren with birth defects. The girl was born 'born deaf with a cleft palate, an extra row of teeth, and slight retardation', while the boy had an eye defect. Beck met two other men whose children had birth defects, and spotted 'puddles of noxious substances' which had 'a faint, choking smell'. He continued: 'Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces.' People in the surrounding areas of Niagara Falls say toxic waste still impacts the residents. In a Facebook group about the town, a resident named Sally Ann wrote: 'The sad thing is that people believe that it's all 'fixed' and the chemicals don't go past the fence. 'It's still leaking into the ground. There are still active tank trucks that are pulling chemicals out of the ground. 'The part of the 102nd street dump on the river is visible from my dad's dock on Cayuga Island and I can see it from there. Everyone that lives around here is sick. 'My mother died from a rare autoimmune illness and my father has three different kinds of cancer. This is not coincidental. 'It's sad what they did to this area so many years ago. The repercussions will last forever.' In the same Facebook thread, Susan Rufrano Waitzman revealed how her aunt lived in the town and got mouth cancer, which resulted in the palate of her mouth being removed. Heidi Czewicz Barnett described how she had equally haunting memories of the place, writing: 'Lived on the corner of Colvin Boulevard and 97th Street. One of the original built houses. 'The fumes in the basement were so bad my mother used to pass out because of it and would always fall down the stairs to do laundry. 'My sister had boils all the time. My father used to watch contractors dig foundations for new homes and would ask what the green stuff was coming out of the ground. 'They told him to mind his own business. I myself came across some white rock that I thought was chalk and gave me a chemical burn all over my body. It's terrible.' William T Love had planned the community around the canal as an energy supply, but the project was ditched due to economic fluctuations. The EPA report noted that: 'In the 1920s the seeds of a genuine nightmare were planted [and] the canal was turned into a municipal and industrial chemical dumpsite.' It is believed that 82 different compounds were dumped in the site, including 11 suspected carcinogens. But after residents started complaining about chemical leaks and strange substances surfacing in their yards and basements that they said were leading to health problems, an investigation was launched. Tests revealed that there were high levels of toxic chemicals in the soil, air, and water, prompting government action. As a primary organizer of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, Lois Gibbs helped to bring wide public attention to the environmental crisis in Love Canal. Both of her young children started to suffer from health issues, including asthma and seizures, after moving to the town. After much campaigning, on August 7, 1978, the then-New York Governor Hugh Carey announced that the state would purchase the homes of residents affected by the Love Canal chemical contamination. This decision came after a public health emergency was declared due to the hazardous waste site. The state's purchase aimed to facilitate the relocation of families from the most contaminated areas. In his 1979 report, Beck noted that he was 'very pleased' with how the Love Canal relocation initiative was actioned. But he concluded: 'But this is not really where the story ends. Quite the contrary. 'We suspect that there are hundreds of such chemical dumpsites across this nation. 'Unlike Love Canal, few are situated so close to human settlements. But without a doubt, many of these old dumpsites are time bombs with burning fuses - their contents slowly leaching out. And the next victim cold be a water supply, or a sensitive wetland. 'Love Canal can now be added to a growing list of environmental disasters involving toxics, ranging from industrial workers stricken by nervous disorders and cancers to the discovery of toxic materials in the milk of nursing mothers.'
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Disturbing look inside the toxic New York town where chemical disaster led to devastating deformities
Void of people and carpeted with barren patches of grass and crumbling tarmac roads, the ghost town of Love Canal has somewhat of a haunting feel. But locals say when you learn about its dark history, the deserted community in Niagara Falls, New York, will leave an even more chilling imprint. In the 1940s and 50s, the neighborhood of Love Canal was the site of what the EPA deems 'the most appalling environmental tragedies in American history ' - and the fallout still looms over the area today. From 1942 to 1953, the Hooker Chemical Company, which produced industrial chemicals, dug canal in the town as a chemical waste dump, under government sanction. Approximately 22,000 tons of waste were buried in the area. In a bid to transform the dumping site, in the 1950s it was sold to the Niagara Falls City School District and developed into a 'charming' rural neighborhood. However, it was discovered that the industrial waste had not been cleaned up sufficiently and, as a consequence, many residents were hit with a range of miscarriages, birth defects and diseases like cancer. An administrator for the EPA, Eckardt Beck, visited the site in 1979 and explained that one woman he met had two grandchildren with birth defects. One of her granddaughters was 'born deaf with a cleft palate, an extra row of teeth, and slight retardation', while one of her grandsons was born with an eye defect. Beck said that another two men he met also had children with birth defects - and as he wandered the streets, he described spotting 'puddles of noxious substances' and experiencing 'a faint, choking smell'. 'Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces,' the EPA worker added. Hooker Chemical Company closed in 1968, but to this day, some say the toxic waste continues to impact those living in the surrounding areas of Niagara Falls. In a Facebook group about the town, Sally Ann wrote: 'The sad thing is that people believe that it's all 'fixed' and the chemicals don't go past the fence. 'It's still leaking into the ground. There are still active tank trucks that are pulling chemicals out of the ground. 'The part of the 102nd street dump on the river is visible from my dad's dock on Cayuga Island and I can see it from there. Everyone that lives around here is sick. 'My mother died from a rare autoimmune illness and my father has three different kinds of cancer. This is not coincidental. 'It's sad what they did to this area so many years ago. The repercussions will last forever.' In the same Facebook thread discussing Love Canal's fate, Susan Rufrano Waitzman revealed how her aunt lived in the town and got mouth cancer, which resulted in the palate of her mouth being removed. Heidi Czewicz Barnett described how she had equally haunting memories of the place, writing: 'Lived on the corner of Colvin Boulevard and 97th Street. One of the original built houses. 'The fumes in the basement were so bad my mother used to pass out because of it and would always fall down the stairs to do laundry. 'Sister had boils all the time. My father used to watch contractors dig foundations for new homes and would ask what the green stuff was coming out of the ground. 'They told him to mind his own business. I myself came across some white rock that I thought was chalk and gave me a chemical burn all over my body. It's terrible.' Love Canal, which sits on a three-block patch of land on the eastern edge of Niagara Falls, is named after its founder, William T. Love. He had visions of building a dream community, with a man-made canal utilizing current from the river to supply it with energy. But the project was ditched in 1910 due to economic fluctuations and the EPA report notes that 'in the 1920s the seeds of a genuine nightmare were planted [and] the canal was turned into a municipal and industrial chemical dumpsite.' It is believed that 82 different compounds were dumped into the land Love Canal encompasses and 11 of these are suspected carcinogens. After leaving the site, the Hooker Chemical Company covered the 16-acre hazardous waste landfill with a 2ft bed of clay. On top of this, around 100 homes were built, along with a public school. But after residents started complaining about chemical leaks and strange substances surfacing in their yards and basements that they said were leading to health problems, an investigation was launched. Tests revealed that there were high levels of toxic chemicals in the soil, air, and water, prompting government action. As a primary organizer of the Love Canal Homeowners Association, Lois Gibbs helped to bring wide public attention to the environmental crisis in Love Canal. Both of her young children started to suffer from health issues, including asthma and seizures, after moving to the town. After much campaigning, on August 7, 1978, the then-New York Governor Hugh Carey announced that the state would purchase the homes of residents affected by the Love Canal chemical contamination. This decision came after a public health emergency was declared due to the hazardous waste site. The state's purchase aimed to facilitate the relocation of families from the most contaminated areas. In his 1979 report, EPA worker Beck noted that he was 'very pleased' with how the Love Canal relocation initiative was actioned. However, he concluded: 'But this is not really where the story ends. Quite the contrary. 'We suspect that there are hundreds of such chemical dumpsites across this nation. 'Unlike Love Canal, few are situated so close to human settlements. But without a doubt, many of these old dumpsites are time bombs with burning fuses - their contents slowly leaching out. And the next victim cold be a water supply, or a sensitive wetland.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
John LaFalce remembered by those he helped on their journeys
Ask about John LaFalce and you will likely hear about his intelligence, his ability to reach across the aisle, and how important the legislation he helped pass in Congress was to his home. 'He was a registered Democrat, but he represented all of Western New York,' said Mary Brennan-Taylor, one of his former staffers who is now the vice president of programs for the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier. 'He may have been born in Buffalo, but he truly was Niagara County's congressman.' The Tonawanda resident who served in Congress from 1975 to 2003 died April 11 at Niagara Hospice, reportedly from kidney failure. He was 85 years old. His legacy in Niagara County was cemented early in his career, as he got Superfund legislation enacted in the wake of the Love Canal crisis. He and then-President Jimmy Carter were in Niagara Falls in October 1980 as Carter signed the second emergency declaration for the area, permitting federal funds to help relocate more than 500 families residing near the toxic site. Among other issues, LaFalce fought against predatory lending practices, helped keep Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station open in 1995, secured federal funding for improving Olcott Harbor in the early '90s, and helped with plans to turn the vacant Turtle building in Niagara Falls into a Smithsonian-affiliated museum. Brennan-Taylor worked on LaFalce's first Congressional campaign in 1974, appreciating his approach to public service and sharing similar views on important issues as the then-New York State Assembly member was running for higher office. The two kept in touch after he won, and in 1992 LaFalce asked her to work for him in his district office. In his Buffalo and Niagara Falls offices, Brennan-Taylor would advise the congressman on many issues simmering in his district, whether it had to do with the nuclear materials at the Niagara Falls Storage Site in Lewiston or wanting the Peace Bridge border crossing to be a double span. LaFalce took the time to take care of smaller matters such as helping a constituent's father get his World War II medal. LaFalce was also more than comfortable being among his constituents, whether on Pine Avenue in Niagara Falls or meeting with the UAW Local 686 in Lockport, or bringing federal employees to his district to see the conditions for themselves. 'When working with perhaps an opponent or someone who didn't agree with you, he would allow grace and not back them into a corner,' Brennan-Taylor said. 'That is missing in politics.' Lockport native Kim Glas, the current president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations, also got her start in Washington politics working for LaFalce from 2000 to 2003. Her desire to work for him came after one of her SUNY Geneseo professors, Bill Cook, had LaFalce mentor him in a Congressional race. 'I was intent to work for John,' Glas said. 'I loved his intellect. He was a workhorse who put Western New York first.' Glas was part of his small staff as a senior legislative assistant and deputy press secretary, whose duties involved advising floor votes on legislation, writing op-eds and letters, and advising LaFalce on issues in the district. As the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, LaFalce was instrumental in enacting financial services reform in the wake of 9/11, making sure American institutions would not unknowingly fund terrorist activity. From there, Glas continued on at Capitol Hill for another seven years before joining the Obama administration, working for the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. But she never forgot the lessons she learned in LaFalce's office. 'He always taught me to ask the hard questions and be thoughtful in your approach,' Glas said. Tributes have poured in for LaFalce from various New York politicians including Gov. Kathy Hochul, who worked in his office in the 1980s, and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-Buffalo, said in a statement, 'Congressman LaFalce will be remembered for all that he did. However, standing up for the residents of Love Canal in the face of environmental catastrophe, and directing the eyes of the world on Western New York, forced a national reckoning with the dangers of industrial pollution, further underscored his fearless leadership.' The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Buffalo Niagara Chapter recognized LaFalce for his part in the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988, which made it easier for women to start their own businesses. 'Congressman LaFalce gave women business owners a seat at the table and the tools to build lasting success,' chapter president Patti Lamcabelli said. 'His vision, paired with NAWBO's advocacy, helped open doors for generations of women entrepreneurs.' Nate McMurray, who ran for Congress several times in the past decade, had LaFalce's endorsement during the 2020 campaign in the 27th Congressional District. 'He was the last of a breed: a man of books and parishes, of law and labor, of corner tables and Latin Mass,' McMurray said in a Facebook post. 'He had rough edges, yes—but he came from a time when public service was about more than power. It was about stewardship.'
