Environmental Issues In The Love Canal

Our lives are getting easier based on the development of all different types of technology. The environment is also changing constantly. Pollution of air, water and soil by chemical compounds that take many years to breakdown. Most of these chemicals are the bi-products of our modern lifestyle and are created by industry and motor vehicle exhaust. Pollution isn’t just limited to the air. Soil is another place where pollution is starting to take hold. Common toxic substances include heavy metals, nitrates and plastic. A lot of the plastics that are discarded by humans end up the ocean. These plastics tend to go unseen by humans as the pollution is usually blown out to sea by prevailing winds. The over consumption of resources and creation of

This issue was first widely publicized as a result of the health emergency declared by the New York State Department of Health in 1978 in response to shocking revelations about the problems caused by improper waste disposal in the now infamous Love Canal dump site. The actions and reactions of the corporation that disposed of the waste in question , public officials, residents, the media, and scientists involved in the Love Canal controversy serve as excellent illustrations of many of the ethics issues associated with efforts to protect the public from environment

Not know how dangerous it is to leave around the canal; the residents thought for a moment that this could be their dream home. Devastating disaster broke out when several residents became sick via direct contact with the chemical being released. Children were sick too shortly after attending the local school. In the mist of all this sickness, the residents still haven’t realize that it was the Love Canal that is the main source for many different types of sickness and disease that are happening around them. Not until 1976 when two reporters, David Pollak and David Russell were conducting tests on several sump pump near Love Canal and found traces of toxic chemicals in the pump. Even though the problem has been identify and the source of the problem was found, still the matter was silence for about a year until another reporter named Michael Brown brought this issue to the light. He investigated the potential health effects by using a survey going door to door in 1978. In his survey, he found that many abnormalities and birth defect was directly related to the toxic chemical waste. Such abnormalities are enlarged legs, hands, feet and head. Brown then meet up with a group of local protesters lead by resident Karen Schroeder who had a daughter with many birth defects to start protesting against the city. One long – time resident of the canal said “we knew they put chemicals into the canal