Love Canal Chemical Waste Landfill (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)]]> Chemical plants -- Waste disposal -- Environmental aspects -- New York (State) -- Niagara Falls]]>
Beginning in the summer of 1978, when blood tests were first administered and only a selected number of households were ordered to evacuate their contaminated homes, Lois Gibbs and her Love Canal Homeowners Association demanded that arrangements be made to move out more families for permanent relocation.

After strong lobbying efforts, president Jimmy Carter took initial action in approving enough funds for New York State to buy 236 Love Canal homes. Families were relocated at a cost of $10 million dollars.

Three months later it was revealed that 200 tons of dioxin, one of the most lethal chemicals produced by humans, were buried in the canal. Residents said they witnessed the military also using the canal as a dumpsite.

In May 1980 the Environmental Protection Agency determined that some residents suffered from chromosome damage. Four days later President Carter declared Love Canal a national emergency. Eventually another 710 Love Canal families were relocated.

Love Canal families had originally sought $15 billion dollars in damages from Hooker Chemical’s parent company Occidental Chemical Corporation. In 1983, about 1,330 families got a settlement of $20 million dollars. In addition, a one million dollar medical trust fund was created.

In 1995, Occidental Chemical Corporation and Occidental Petroleum agreed to pay the federal government $129 million dollars as reimbursement for clean-up costs of the Love Canal landfill.]]> Newberg, Rich (Reporter)]]> Murphy, Kurt (Graphic Artist)]]> Rice, Marie (Reporter)]]> Beard, John (Co-host)]]> Gunter, Gary (Reporter)]]> A Toxic Nightmare: The Awakening [The Story of Love Canal Pt. 1]

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