HEADLINE NO. 1: Love Canal timeline

LOVE CANAL TIMELINE

n 1942: Hooker Chemicals Corporation purchases the Love Canal area, which was created to channel water as a means for low-cost hydraulic power. Between now and 1953, the company proceeds to dump nearly 22,000 tons of chemical waste into the canal.

n 1955: The 99th Street Elementary School is constructed on Love Canal property and opens to students.

n 1976: High ground water levels as a result of heavy snow and rainfall in the Love Canal area cause portions of the Hooker Chemical Company landfill to surface, exposing the area environment to toxic waste and contaminating water.

n April 1978: Niagara Gazette reporter Michael Brown reports, in a series of stories, that there is a hazardous waste problem in Niagara Falls. His reports include one on the Love Canal area. This prompts residents of the area to call state authorities about the matter.

n April 25, 1978: The New York State Department of Health, in confirming that public health was in jeopardy in Love Canal, orders the Niagara County Health Department to install a fence around the contaminated area and remove all hazardous waste from the landfill.

n April 1978: A petition started by resident and mother Lois Gibbs is circulated around Love Canal. The petition aims to gain support for closing the 99th Street School located in close proximity to the toxic waste site.

n Aug. 2, 1978: A state of emergency is declared for the Love Canal area by New York state. The 99th Street School is closed as the New York commissioner of health orders clean-up efforts to intensify. The state warns families with children and pregnant women to relocate as soon as possible.

n Aug. 7, 1978: President Jimmy Carter declares a federal State of Emergency for the Love Canal area. For the 239 families that live in the first two rows near the landfill site, the government provided funding for a permanent relocation. The remaining residents are told they are not at risk.

n Feb. 8, 1979: A second evacuation order was issued by the New York State Department of Health. This order warned that pregnant women and children under the age of 2 living in the 10-block area outside the first evacuation zone of 239 homes should leave, or risk health problems. In this case, once the child reached the age of 2 or the pregnancy terminated, the family was to move back into the contaminated neighborhood.

n Sept. 8, 1979: The state temporarily relocates 300 families living in the area because they began experiencing health problems due to the clean up project. The problems were caused by exposure to harmful chemicals.

n May 17, 1980: Residents of Love Canal get a scare as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces that blood tests have revealed chromosome damage in members of the community. The residents are told they are more prone to genetic damage and cancers.

n May 19, 1980: Outraged and fearful from the announcement, Love Canal residents take two EPA employees hostage and demand that the government relocate all the families in the neighborhood.

n May 21, 1980: The federal government agrees to temporarily relocate the 900 remaining Love Canal families until funding became available for permanent housing.

n Oct. 1, 1980: President Carter arrives in Niagara Falls and signs a bill to pay for permanent relocation for the Love Canal residents.

n Dec. 20, 1983: A settlement is reached between 1,328 Love Canal residents and Occidental Chemical Corporation (formerly Hooker Chemical) after the people filed a lawsuit against the company. Nearly $20 million was awarded to the residents, while $1 million went to a medical trust fund set up for the victims.

n September 1988: A five-year study conducted by the New York State Department of Health completed concludes that parts of the Love Canal area are “habitable” but wouldn’t say that they are safe. Nonetheless, the state makes it legal for people to live there again.

n Sept. 15, 1989: The state capitol building in Albany is flooded with protesters who are against the state’s decision to allow new people to live in Love Canal.

n April 1, 1990: A major protest by former Love Canal residents along with community leaders from across the state and country takes place in Niagara Falls.

n Aug. 15, 1990: Part of the Love Canal area is renamed Black Creek Village by the Love Canal Revitalization Agency. Located on this area of land are nine homes for sale to the general public.

n Nov. 28, 1990: For the first time in nearly 10 years, a family moves into Love Canal.

n June 22, 1994: Occidental Petroleum agrees to fund New York state’s $98 million cleanup debt.

n Jan. 5, 1995: The chemical waste treatment plant, still located at Love Canal, is taken over by Occidental Chemical.

n Dec. 22, 1995: Occidental Petroleum shells out more money, agreeing to cover the $129 million federal cleanup cost at the Love Canal site.

n Oct. 12, 2004: The EPA removes Love Canal from its Superfund National Priorities List, declaring that cleanup work and a follow-up study were complete.