PBS documentary “Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal” – an irrefutable indictment against US companies and the government
American big business sees the working class as prey. Profit always comes first, said socialist Eugene V. Debs about the US industrial system: “Work, life, love, freedom – all of these must come second.”
The PBS documentation Poisoned soil: The tragedy at Love Canal is a devastating film that has no answers. In the late 1970s, residents of Love Canal, a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, discovered that their homes, schools, and playgrounds were built on a former chemical waste dump that was leaking toxic substances and wreaking havoc on their health. The conditions led to the deaths of Love Canal’s residents and countless illnesses. The toxic mess was never cleaned up.
Written, produced and directed by Jamila Ephron, the documentary features interviews with local residents as well as historians and journalists who speak about the horrors the community has endured at the hands of pro-business politicians.
Love Canal was established in 1890 as a model settlement, but only partially developed. In the 1920s, the canal became a garbage dump for the city of Niagara Falls. In the 1940s, the canal was purchased by the Hooker Chemical Company, which used the site until 1953 – with government approval – to dispose of thousands of tons of chemical byproducts from the manufacture of dyes, perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resins.
At the end of that period, the canal contained approximately 21,000 tons of toxic chemicals, including at least 12 known carcinogens (halogenated organics, chlorobenzenes, and dioxin). Hooker covered the 16-acre hazardous waste dump with clay. In 1952, Hooker agreed to sell his property to the school board for $1. The sale document, signed on April 28, 1953, also released the company from all legal obligations should any future lawsuits arise.
Historian Richard Newman argues that “Love Canal was the first chemical disaster to unfold before American eyes.” In an archival video, a reporter comments similarly: “Love Canal is just the tip of a dangerous and terrifying chemical iceberg.” Another claims that “there are 32,000 known chemical waste sites in the United States. More than 800 of these are now considered dangerous to public health..”
The chemical company has always denied that it bears any legal responsibility in connection with the situation at Love Canal.
Lois Gibbs, one of the residents who became an organizer and activist, describes how she “found the house on 101st Street, which was in the Love Canal neighborhood. They were mostly starter houses. And from my point of view, it was the perfect neighborhood. To the south was the Niagara River.”
“To the north,” Gibbs continued, “there was a creek, and the kids could run along the creek and pick up tadpoles, or, you know, it was just a cute little, very shallow creek, good for kids. We moved in with Michael, who was a year old at the time, a healthy little boy, and then we had our little daughter. I really believed I had accomplished so much. I had this house and a husband who had a job and these beautiful children. You know, everything seemed to be going well.”
She continued, “Chemicals were a part of our lives. You know, when we smelled chemicals, we smelled a good economy. We knew we would be able to put food on the table, pay our mortgage, and buy a new car one day.”
Another resident, Debbie Cerrillo Curry, pointed out that “Love Canal was subsidized by the government. My husband didn’t make a lot of money and they made that a very tempting offer to move in. We were paying $135 a month to live in a brand new house, which was really unusual. I didn’t want to question that. And so we were pretty lucky that we moved in at the right time.”
Data showed that the basements of numerous homes adjacent to Love Canal were emitting unacceptable levels of toxic fumes from more than 80 compounds. Ten of the most common and toxic compounds – including benzene, a known human carcinogen – were present. Even the mailman had to wear a gas mask.
In 1979, the EPA released the results of blood tests that showed elevated white blood cell counts, a precursor to leukemia, and chromosomal damage in Love Canal residents. About 33 percent of residents had suffered chromosomal damage. In a typical population, chromosomal damage affects 1 percent of people.
Throughout the ordeal, the homeowners’ concerns were ignored and vilified not only by Hooker Chemical (now a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum) but also by indifferent, hostile government officials. These parties initially argued that residents’ severe health problems had nothing to do with the toxic chemicals buried in the canal. Because residents could not prove that the chemicals on their property came from Hooker’s disposal site, they could not prove liability. Throughout the litigation, residents were unable to sell their properties or relocate.
Occidental and 1,336 residents of Love Canal eventually reached an out-of-court settlement of $20 million. The residents had originally demanded $15 billion.
Author Keith O’Brien reports on Hooker’s PR offensive and reminds people of the jobs they created and how much money they pumped back into the city.
“If that doesn’t work and the complaints don’t stop,” explains historian Newman, Hooker officials – when they testify before Congress – say, “‘Look, you all should know that we make really toxic stuff. But we also do wonders in American life. Everything that American industry and consumers’ lives are based on depends on chemicals, and sometimes we have to recognize that chemicals are made from dangerous substances.'”
Elsewhere in the documentary, Newman claims that the summer of 1979 was “a real turning point for the crisis at Love Canal. In the last year, there have been two state health declarations and a federal emergency declaration. But the majority of families still live at Love Canal. And with the redevelopment and the summer dust and heat, the smells are worse than ever.”
In 1994, Federal District Judge John Curtin ruled that Hooker/Occidental had acted “negligently” but not “recklessly.”
In 2004, federal officials announced that the Superfund cleanup was complete, although the cleanup had been completed years earlier. The entire process took 21 years and cost a total of $400 million. About 260 homes north of the canal were renovated and sold to new owners, and about 150 acres east of the canal were sold to commercial developers for light industrial use.
“If you go to the Love Canal site today, you won’t see the word Love Canal anywhere,” Newman concludes. “There’s no sign anywhere saying ‘This is where the world’s most famous environmental disaster happened.’ But what you will see is a huge chain-link fence. You will see a huge piece of land inside the fenced-off zone that is off-limits. You may not know that there are still nearly 22,000 tons of hazardous waste underground.”
Love Canal is a well-known tragedy, but one that should not be forgotten for a moment. It expresses in miniature the true state of social life in America and the predatory, essentially criminal character of the ruling class.
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