Love Canal At 25: Still Not Lovely

A quarter of a century after the Love Canal disaster, the debate goes on over how the government handled the environmental calamity that led to the creation of the EPA Superfund program.

Back in August of 1978, an underground cauldron of chemicals bubbled into basements and back yards in the upstate New York community, sparking panic over birth defects and cancer. President Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency and the state of New York announced it would buy and demolish 900 houses surrounding the toxic dump.

Now, about half the area houses pristine homes with manicured lawns. The other half consists of overgrown lots, not safe enough to live on, but acceptable for future industry.

Some environmentalists marked the 25th anniversary of Love Canal by calling for the cleanup of hundreds of toxic waste sites. Others say they're still worried about Love Canal itself.

Lois Gibbs, the local activist who first raised concerns about Love Canal, says little has been learned in the quarter century since her neighborhood was declared dangerous.

Gibbs led a pilgrimage to allegedly toxic Erie County neighborhoods Thursday and The Buffalo News reports that at each site, the message was the same: "After 25 years, I thought I'd come back and this stuff would be cleaned up," said Gibbs. "Not only is it not over, but Western New York is in trouble — and our leaders are not listening."

The newspaper reports state funding has run dry and sites marked for cleanup still haven't been cleaned.

Many locals are dissatisfied with the slow progress. Rev. Darius G. Prigden pointed out how quickly city officials responded to graffiti in North Buffalo, whereas known poisons across the street have remained there for years. Neighborhood children have been found to carry high amounts of lead in their blood, as high as anywhere in New York State, the Buffalo News says.

"We would love to get the attention that vandals got," Prigden said.

The neighbors might be of different colors or economic status, Prigden said, but their concerns are the same, he said: "We all have families. We all want a good quality of life for our children."