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It took place in Niagara Falls, New York in 1978 where there was a large-scale evacuation of the Love Canal Neighborhood

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Picture of a house in the Love Canal Neighborhood

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Originally it was found by William T. Love in the late 1800's who wanted to use the area to create a cheap Hydroelectric power by digging a canal between the upper and lower Niagara Falls River. However, eventually the project was abandoned leaving the area completely empty.

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Picture of the thousands of barrels of toxic waste in the Love Canal Dump 

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In the 1940's the area was used by the Hooker Electrochemical Company to dump the toxic industrial waste and chemicals they were producing. The company buried around 21,000 tons of toxic chemicals in and around Love Canal.

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In the 1950's the Love Canal property was sold to the Niagara Falls School Board. Despite them knowing that their was toxic chemicals under the property. The company even had a disclaimer saying that it was not responsible for any health effects from the toxic waste.

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Photo of the destruction and evacuation of Love Canal  with a front loader carrying fences 

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In the 50's-60's houses started to be built on top of and near these toxic waste sites. A school was also built only a couple hundred feet away from the toxic waste site. Families then began moving into these houses and sending their kids to school unknowing of the dangers that were underneath them.

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Graph of Health Problems from residents of Love Canal 

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In the 1970's residents start beginning to see that there was an abnormal rise in the amount of health problems in Love Canal. Problems such as Miscarriages, Birth Defects, Cancer, and other illnesses were unusually high in Love Canal.

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The chemicals in the ground began to leak harmful chemicals like dioxins which polluted and contaminated not only the ground but the air as well. Pockets of gas formed under the ground from the buried waste making it an even more dangerous environment.

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photo of American Activist Lois Marie Gibbs 

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Local activists including Lois Marie Gibbs began spreading public awareness about the numerous health issues and large amount of environmental pollution. Gibbs was also a mother at the time making her a vocal advocate for the families in Love Canal.

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photos taken of newspaper headlines of Love Canal

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US declares Love Canal a Public Health Emergency 

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US declares Love Canal a Public Health Emergency 

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In 1978, after the outcry of many residents within Love Canal the US declares Love Canal as a public health emergency. This lead to the total evacuation of the neighborhood and efforts to help relocate the residents to other places.

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Photo of the destroyed and empty houses after the evacuation 

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Many of the people in Love Canal were exposed to hazardous chemicals that affected them greatly including birth defects, cancer, and other diseases. But, it also taught people and raised awareness about the dangers of toxic chemicals. Also, over 800 families were forced to evacuate from Love Canal and were forced to find new homes to live in.

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After the large disaster property values in the area completely dropped because no one was willing to live in Love Canal from the blatant health risks. The Hooker Electrochemical Company that dumped all of the toxic waste in the Love Canal was forced into major cleanup costs. They also later had to pay millions in settlements and compensation.

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The toxic chemicals placed in the ground severely polluted the surrounding environment and hurt the ecosystem. Even though Love Canal was eventually cleaned up the impact was felt for decades.

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The public outcry addressed the issue of residents that were living in Love Canal and was so great that they were eventually able to get government attention to come help in the disaster. This form of addressing the issue reflects the same value system as anthropocentric. By having the government step in with laws and regulations they were able to help clean up Love Canal including the creation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) which aimed to clean up toxic waste sites and hold polluters accountable.

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photo of children protesting about Love Canal

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Why Was This Event Important in the History of the Environment?

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Why Was This Event Important in the History of the Environment?

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The Love Canal incident in 1978 is a large and important moment in the history of the environment as it revealed the dangerous consequences of dumping toxic waste into the environment which helped inspire new environmental regulations including the CERCLA, and inspired public participation for fighting and protesting for the environment. It also shaped many of the environmental regulations that we see in the present day and showed how humans need to be held accountable and protect the environment.

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Bird's eye view of Love Canal with the photo on the left being from 1980 and the right being from 2002 after the area was cleaned up

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How Did This Event Change the Way Humans Think About the Environment?

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How Did This Event Change the Way Humans Think About the Environment?

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Love Canal was one of the first times where environmental issues were shifted to the forefront. Initially, environmental issues were seen as niche or not as important as other issues like communism. This was the first time that it was seen as a major health and public concern. It also changed the way that the government worked with them addressing and cleaning up this environmental disaster. It also changed the industry as businesses had to think about properly managing their waste and pollution rather than just dumping it into the environment and let it be someone else's problem.

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Photo of the famous activist Louis Marie Gibbs in the Love Canal Incident

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1. The Love Canal Neighborhood was built on top of an industrial toxic waste dump

2. Lois Gibbs helped create the Superfund Program a program that holds polluters accountable for cleaning up their messes