Pollution is never a good thing, but it’s even a little more disheartening when the same location that was thought to be in the process of being cleaned reverts back to its contaminated state. That’s the current situation for residents of the Niagara Falls, NY, Love Canal neighborhood.
Almost 35 years after locals vacated the area due to toxic waste concerns they’re facing the very same problem again, according to the New York Post.
“We’re stuck here. We want to get out,” said 34-year-old resident Dan Reynolds.
Reynolds went on to say that he’s been plagued by mysterious rashes and other ailments since he moved to the area about 10 years ago. At that time he bought the four-bedroom home he still lives in for $39,900.
It was during the late 1970s that contamination of the waste dump site at Love Canal started to become a real issue, more than two decades after Hooker Chemical Co. had stopped using the abandoned canal as a waste site. From 1942 to 1953 the company dumped an estimated 21,800 tons of industrial hazardous waste there.
The problem was believed to be fixed after the canal was capped and homes and even a school were built on top of the site. However, a particularly harsh winter in 1977 led to excessive water seeping into the groundwater table, and soon chemical waste was rising back to the surface, appearing in backyards and basements. Unfortunately, this is a much too common occurrence, as more than 80% of the most serious hazardous waste sites in the U.S. have had adverse effects on nearby groundwater.
The only reason people started to move back into the area around 1990 was because of a revitalization effort that took place. About 260 homes were refurbished and resold at 20% under market value.
Occidental Petroleum Corp., which bought the company that dumped the chemicals, claims environmental remediation efforts have been and remain successful. The state made them responsible for monitoring the site in 1995.
Theresa Reynolds, Dan’s wife, was well aware of the neighborhood’s history but was persuaded to buy the house under the pretense that the contamination had been contained and the area was now safe.
“We knew it was Love Canal, that chemicals were here,” she said.
Now the Reynolds are among six families that have filed lawsuits over the matter. Lawyers involved in the case say there could be as many as 1,100 more claims forthcoming. Although Rochester residents are far enough away from the contamination, many of the area’s families may have relatives spread out throughout upstate, including in the Niagara Falls area.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declined to comment on the lawsuits but did tell the New York Post the area is “the most sampled piece of property on the planet.”
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