Barrons AP Environmental Science

(Marvins-Underground-K-12) #1

  1. (C) During the 1940s and 1950s, the Hooker Chemical Company dumped
    approximately 21,000 tons of organic solvents, acids, and pesticides as well
    as their by-products, many of them carcinogenic (cancer causing) or
    teratogenic (creating birth defects), into an abandoned canal in New York
    State (near Niagara Falls). A school and homes were built over the site.
    Chemicals began to leak from the ground and cause illness. Since the
    disaster, various levels of government have spent around $250 million
    (Superfund) and 20 years cleaning up the site with much of the waste still
    buried there. New York State has since rebuilt homes in the area at reduced
    prices to attract new residents.

Free download pdf