Executive Summary

The report analyzes the Love Canal disaster case of in Niagara Falls, New York. Love Canal used by the Hooker Chemical Company to dump its chemical waste. The report identifies that Love canal walls were damaged that impacted on the environment and the health of the local residents.

Problem Identification and Analysis

Love Canal disaster in Niagara Falls, New York is one of the most famous examples of groundwater pollution in the US. The cannel filled with water in a gradual manner and has been developed to provide the pure water of the people. The local children swam in the cannel but in the 1920s the canal polluted and become a dump site for the Niagara Falls. The city regularly delivered its municipal waste into the pit and also the US army dumped nuclear waste of World War II into the pit in the 1940s (Altaner, 2012).. In addition, near the 1942s, the Hooker Chemical Company was granted approval through the Niagara Power and Development Company to dump its large quantity of chemical waste in the love canal. In the mid-1970s, the Love Canal had used to burn 21000 tons of toxic waste and hazardous waste through Hooker Chemical those are owner and sole user of this side (Department of Health, 2005). Near the canal a public school built and 1000 homes built on the site but during construction the canal's walls and metal barrels were damaging or break that was impacted on the environment and the health of people.

Statement of Major Problems

Overall, the chemical waste flow outside the cannel due to the damage of canal walls that impacted on the environment and people of the city. Trees and gardens were dying due to the contact of chemical and local residents complained of strange odors and experienced major health issued such as high rates of miscarriages, birth defects, body and skin problems and chromosome damage (King & Auriffeille, 2009). Moreover, city officials investigated the major issued but did not act to solve them.

Generation and Evaluation of Alternative Solutions

The officials and authorities were clean up of Love Canal in 2004 through removing contaminated soil, installing drainage pipes to capture contaminated groundwater for treatment, and covering it with clay and plastic. The Hooker Chemical paid around $102 million to clear up of canal and approx $27 million for the relocation of 1000 families to the Federal Emergency Management Association (Department of Health, 2005). Along with this, New York State was paid about $98 million and US government paid around $8 million to clear up.

Recommendations

In recent times, more than 1000 major hazardous waste sites in the US should be regularly clear up by the Waste Management Association to protect the environment and human health (Maantay & McLafferty, 2011). The state and national government should approve the sufficient funds for the waste management associations to effectively clear up hazardous waste sites at regular basis.

Implementation

The government should establish the Waste Management Association and given right them to make law, rules and regulation, related the waste management and also give right to take action those will not follow the laws related to waste management and environment protection (Altaner, 2012).

References