Love Canal’s Lessons (08/08/2008)
by Lois Ann Zendarski, President
Concerned Citizens of Cattaraugus County

I was honored to be one of the attendees at the Center for Health & Environmental Justice event held at VFW Post 917 in Niagara Falls on August 1st. This organization’s director is Lois Gibbs, the woman who was mad as heck and led the fight in blowing the whistle on what was happening in Love Canal, (Niagara Falls, NY), 30 years ago. Through her, the truth became known about the 200,000 tons of chemicals that had been dumped in her neighborhood.

The mayor of Niagara Falls,Paul Dyster spoke, applauding those who work to keep the environment safe. His home town, because of environmentalists like Lois Gibbs, is known as the birthplace of modern environmentalism.

The banquet hall at the VFW Post in Niagara Falls was filled to capacity with environmental activists from all over Western New York and beyond. Speakers having first hand knowledge of the atrocities of landfills and environmental problems came to the podium one by one.

The group heard from steelworkers and their families at Bethlehem Steel in Lackawanna, NY, some of whom worked rolling enriched uranium. Cancer is affecting those working on the Manhattan Project because of exposure to radiation. It took decades for the federal government to acknowledge that thousands of workers were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation while handling materials to be used in making nuclear weapons in the 1940s.

Lewiston is host to the CWM landfill that imports PCBs from 30 states. This toxic and radioactive landfill wants to expand, continuing to stockpile chemical waste just a few miles from the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. CWM has contaminated creeks that run through residential areas, parks and the Great Lakes. Grassroots groups are fighting back opposing CWM application to expand its facility.
FMC pesticide site in Middleport, NY is one of the largest waste facilities in the US. You will find agent orange and agent purple, (another powerful herbicide and defoliant), there. Did you know that there was a large bird kill in Middleport due to exposure to these chemicals, affecting thousands of birds--the same chemical that killed thousands in Bohpal, India? FMC wants an above ground landfill on their site for storage of soils and wastes from temporary cleanups. We were told the landfill would be situated 100 feet from the school yard fence. United Neighbors Improving Tomorrow’s Environment is opposing FMCs application.

West Valley has the potential of being catastrophic if a significant breach occurs, affecting the Great Lakes Watershed. West Valley Nuclear site contains the most complex mix of nuclear and hazardous wastes in the nation. An example was given by West Valley Coalition director, Judy Einach. She said that if a breach occurred, the radioactivity would travel down Cattaraugus Creek to Lake Erie threatening the municipal water supply. What would happen if radioactive water then was pumped onto a burning home? Think about the effects of watering lawns, washing cars or bathing in radioactive contaminated water. A significant breach would render Erie County uninhabitable for centuries.
Luella Kenney, a former Love Canal resident, told those attending the event about her son, John. She said that he used to leave “I love you” notes on her dinner plate and on her pillow at night. He wasn’t feeling well and was taken to Children’s Hospital. His mother was told he “just needed to be monitored”. Always concerned about others, John told his grandmother not to worry about him lest her blood pressure get too high.

Luella said that in two months, 7 year old John Kenney was dead because he played in his own backyard in the Love Canal area.

800 FAMILIES were evacuated from Love Canal 30 years ago August 2nd when the NYS Dept of Health declared a state of emergency. The 99th Street School was closed, and a cleanup plan was ordered to address the leaking toxic dumpsite. Some families left the area all together. Some moved to Wheatfield and the surrounding area. (My husband recalls knowing some of these families personally.) Those from the Love Canal area have a higher risk of lung, kidney and bladder cancer. Children have 2 times the rate of having a birth defected child.

Lois Gibbs told the group that regular folks can be a part of social change. You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to be highly educated. People can make the difference. She said that Love Canal should never be forgotten because if we close the book on Love Canal, the same thing can and will happen again. She urged everyone to be diligent, watchful and involved.

We, in Cattaraugus County have avoided a potential Love Canal in our backyard. Hundreds of people have worked for nearly two decades to make sure that there aren’t similar horror stories to tell of in OUR backyard. It doesn’t take much to become active, but it does take YOU! Be informed, stay informed and help to be a part of keeping your neighborhoods safe for generations to come.