In the 1970's, the public discovered that the Occidental Petroleum Corporation had previously buried over 21,800 tons of industrial toxic waste in the Love Canal, a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York. While the property built over that former dumping site has been permanently closed, streets north and west of that landfill have been merely refurbished. Nearly $230 million was spent to cap the canal. Though homeowners are being assured that the waste is contained and that the area is safe, to this day, several reports of birth defects, miscarriages, mental disabilities, anomalies, cysts, and other illnesses persist. Many families believe that this site was never properly contained and that these toxins are leaching out. They also feel trapped in this area because they can not afford to live elsewhere. The Occidental Petroleum Corporation is now a target to several lawsuits. They, however, insist that the waste is properly contained and that the monitoring and containment system is effective; state and federal agencies support these claims. What do you guys think is really going on? Are the homeowners trying to make some money or is the government trying to protect the petroleum industry?
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/02/suits-claim-love-canal-still-oozing-35-years-later/
3 comments:
Dang I wasn't aware that this was still such a an issue since in APES last year we talked about it like it was history (specifically the Love Canal leakage). From the knowledge that I learned from taking the class, If what the reports of the miscarriages and anomalies etc. are true, I believe that there is still a major issue here and it is not safe. Also, even if they contain it, the toxins will still be in the ground for a very long until the disappear, which will not be for decades. I feel as thought homeowners are still trying to make some money since such a large neighborhood was affected.
Like Keith, I remember learning about this in APES last year; and through the tone of one documentary that we watched, it seemed like the Love Canal incident was taken care of for good. But now it seems like that may not be the case, even 30+ years later. To answer Celene's question, I don't think that the homeowners are trying to distort their situation to make money off of the government, but it's easy for them to blame a company (and one with a horrendous track record) for things like birth defects, miscarriages, etc. If I lived there, I would probably blame Occidental for anything that could be remotely related to the toxins in the ground. It's just too easy to pin the blame on a company that everybody already hates; and its plausible, but not certain, that these effects are directly related to the dump site; but it's just so much easier to believe that the bad guy is responsible, even when that may not be the case.
It is not feasible economically nor scientifically to restore the Love Canal to its original condition. All clean up methods cannot get rid of 100% of contaminants - Love Canal will retain higher pollutant levels as a legacy of what happened there decades ago. Increased rates of medical complications are expected as with any polluted site, and there's not much residents can really do beyond extra preventive care to offset the presence of harmful chemicals, short of moving out or the development of better cleanup technology.
The responsible company can and should no longer be sued for further reparations or efforts to restore the environment, as while the contamination is higher than average, it has been reduced to acceptable levels and residents have been given significant notice and help to move out. Those who stay just have to accept the increased danger, but there is no longer any worth in creating conflict over an environmental crisis that ended decades ago.
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