Courtney Dowd
Period 3 A.P. Environmental Science
Woburn
Woburn is a small town located in the State of Massachusetts. In the mid 1982, Woburn
became the scene of a high-profile water contamination crisis. During the mid to late 1970s, the
local community became concerned over the high incidence of childhood leukemia and other
illnesses. For many years, the residents of the neighborhood complained that the water was foul
tasting and ruined their clothes. Later that year, in 1979, high levels of chemical contamination
were found in City of Woburn’s Wells G and H. Some members of the community suspected
that the unusually high incidence of leukemia, cancer, and a wide variety of other health
problems were linked to the possible exposure to chemicals in the groundwater pumped from the
wells. In May 1982, a number of citizens whose children had developed or died from leukemia
filed a civil lawsuit against two corporations, W. R. Grace and Company and Beatrice Foods.
Grace and Beatrice were suspected of contaminating the groundwater by improperly disposing of
trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PERC) and other industrial solvents at their
facilities in Woburn near wells. Further investigations in the area found five separate properties
that were contributing to the contamination of the wells. Those sites were an industrial dry
cleaning operation owned by UniFirst, a manufacturing facility of solid vinyl siding owned by
New England Plastics Corporation, and an undeveloped parcel of land and a leasing truck
terminal owned by the Olympia Nominee Trust Company. In a controversial decision over what
many considered a bungled trial, Judge Walter Jay Skinner ruled that the jurors should answer
questions that they and many others considered confusing, Beatrice was acquitted and Grace
only paid $8 million, a third of which went to the lawyers and lawyer fees. A nited t tes
nviron ent l rote tion gen y report later found Beatrice and Grace responsible for the
contamination. In the civil lawsuit against two corporations, no, the right people were not
blamed. Beatrice was acquitted and Grace only had to pay 8 million. However, the lawsuit that
the EPA filled, yes the right people were blamed. They finally had to take responsibility for their
actions.
Love Canal
Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, which became the subject of
national and international attention, controversy, and eventual environmental notoriety following
the discovery of 21,000 tons of toxic waste that had been buried beneath the neighborhood by
Hooker Chemical. Hooker Chemical sold this site to the Niagara Falls School Board with a deed
explicitly detailing the danger contained within the site, and including a liability limitation clause
about the contamination. The construction efforts of housing development, combined with
particularly heavy rainstorms, released the chemical waste, leading to a public health emergency
and an urban planning scandal. The matter went quiet for more than a year and was resurrected
by reporter Michael Brown, who then investigated potential health effects by carrying forth an
informal door-to-door survey in the early summer of 1978, finding birth defects and many
anomalies. He advised the local residents to create a protest group, which was led by resident
Karen Schroeder. The New York State Health Department followed suit and found an abnormal
incidence of miscarriages. The dumpsite was declared an unprecedented state emergency on
August 2, 1978. Mr. Brown, who wrote more than a hundred articles on the dump, also further
tested groundwater and later found that the dump was three times the size officials knew, with
possible ramifications beyond the original evacuation zone. He also discovered that highly toxic
dioxin was there. On August 7, 1978, United States President Jimmy Carter announced a federal
health emergency, called for the distribution of federal funds and ordered the Federal Disaster
Assistance Agency to assist the City of Niagara Falls to remedy the Love Canal site. This was
the first time in American history that emergency funds were used other than for a natural
disaster. Hooker Chemical was found to be negligent in their disposal of waste, though not
reckless in the sale of the land, in what became a test case for liability clauses. The Love Canal is
important in United States environmental history as the site that led to the Comprehensive
Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). CERCLA is commonly
referred to as "Superfund" because of the fund established by the act to help the clean-up of toxic
pollution in residential locations such as Love Canal. Occidental Petroleum was sued by the EPA
and in 1995 agreed to pay $129 million in restitution. I believe that the right people were blamed
for this tragedy. The company that was responsible had to pay back for the damage that they
caused to the families and to the environment.
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States."The river that
caught on fire" is what it is most famous for and helping to spur the environmental movement in
the late 1960s. The Cuyahoga River, at one time, was one of the most polluted rivers in the
United States. There have reportedly been at least thirteen fires on the Cuyahoga River, the first
occurring in 1868. The largest river fire in 1952 caused over $1 million in damage to boats and a
riverfront office building. Because of this fire, Cleveland businesses became infamous for their
pollution. Even following World War II, Cleveland businesses, especially steel mills, routinely
polluted the river. The 1969, Cuyahoga River fire helped create many regulations of water
pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement, and the creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio
Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). Water quality has improved and, partially in
recognition of this improvement, the Cuyahoga River was designated as one of 14 American
Heritage Rivers in 1998. Pollution remains, however, including urban runoff, nonpoint source
problems, combined sewer overflows, and stagnation due to water impounded by dams. For this
reason, the Environmental Protection Agency classified portions of the Cuyahoga River
Watershed as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern. Yes I think the right people were blamed
because of all these fires, certain acts were established that limited the amount of pollutants
allowed to be dumped in to the river. Now the river is in much better shape than it was just a few
years ago. Some fish and plant life is also starting to return.
Work Cited
The governments role. (2010, March 30). Retrieved from
http://serc.carleton.edu/woburn/overarching/the_goverments_role.ht
ml
Heneghan, A. (2000, November). The legacy of woburn . Retrieved
from
http://www.agls.uidaho.edu/etox/resources/case_studies/WOBURN.P
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B e c k , E . ( 1 9 7 9 , J a n u a r y) . T h e l o v e c a n a l t r a g e d y . R e t r i e v e d f r o m
h t t p : / / w w w . e p a . g o v / h i s t o r y/ t o p i c s / l o v e c a n a l / 0 1 . h t m
Cuyahoga river fire. (2010). Retrieved from
h t t p : / / w w w . o h i o h i s t o r yc e n t r a l . o r g / e n t r y. p h p ? r e c = 1 6 4 2
Scott, M. (2009, January 04). After the flames. Retrieved from
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/after_the_flames
_ t h e _ s t o r y_ b e h . h t m l