18 class action lawsuits against Love Canal dismissed

(WIVB) – A judge recently dismissed 18 class action lawsuits that claimed toxic chemicals from Love Canal leaked into their neighborhoods, damaging property and making some people sick.

The lawsuit also involved dozens of local residents who claimed that the toxic chemicals were released during sewer excavation work near the landfill in 2011.

They sued ten companies, including OxyChem, the city of Niagara Falls and its water board, and Glenn Springs Holdings, which oversees and manages the landfill.

Supreme Court Justice Frank Sedita dismissed all of the lawsuits, saying the plaintiffs’ claims were speculative.

Love Canal is one of the worst environmental disasters in the country and was the impetus for a federal program to clean up toxic landfills.

“We are pleased with the ruling, which we believe correctly applied the law,” said Eric Moses, a spokesman for OxyChem, one of the defendants. “The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have all determined, after decades of extensive monitoring and testing, that the landfill cleanup measures, including Love Canal, are working as designed and protecting human health and the environment.”

The plaintiffs have appealed.