Environmental anguish in Love Canal
IN THE '40s and '50s, an abandoned canal in New York state's Love Canal neighbourhood became a dumping ground for toxic wastes produced by Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corp. Later, the company filled up the land and gave it to the developing city of Niagara Falls, which constructed houses on it. By 1978, subsurface leakages of toxic chemicals were detected in the basements of the houses.
Investigations revealed a high incidence of chromosomal damage among the residents, caused by long-term exposure to toxic gases, and the people were evacuated. After prolonged litigation, the company had to pay $20 million as compensation to the 1,300 former residents and also bear the cost of cleaning up the area.
During the '70s and '80s, more incidents of dumping of hazardous waste came to light in the US. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that up to 15 per cent of the annual production of about 344 million tonnes of wet industrial waste was hazardous.
EPA documented more than 500 cases of damage to public health and the environment, caused by direct contact with toxic wastes, fires and explosions, groundwater contamination, surface water contamination, air pollution and poisoning via the food chain.
In 1976, the US Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which provided incentives for the proper treatment, storage and disposal of wastes. In 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act was passed to clean up oil dumps and abandoned waste dumping sites. By the '80s, 17,000 dumping sites were identified for clean-up operations.
Because of these efforts, the US has become a model for hazardous waste treatment. Though hazardous waste is yet to be recognised as a major threat in India, there are many instances of waste dumps endangering human health and the environment, for which measures similar to those adopted in the US can be used to prevent disasters.