The Love Canal disaster was supposed to be a dream community. The vision belonged to a man named William T. Love. In 1834 he started to dig a canal between upper and lower Niagara River to provide cheap hydroelectric power to the area. Only after a mile in the project it was shut down due to lack of funding. By the 1920's the canal was used as a chemical dumpsite. Specifically it was used by Hooker Chemical Corporation. Around twenty-two-thousand tons of chemicals were dumped into the canal (1943-1953). Soon after in 1953 the Hooker Chemical Company sealed the landfill with a clay cap to contain chemical waste. Afterwards they sold the land for one dollar to the Niagara Board of Education. Then the city built an elementary school on that land. When the school was built; it started a community with homes and residents on the landfill site. Unfortunately this caused major problems to the community. Cracks were appearing on the streets and people were getting harmed by the chemicals leaking out. Lois Gibbs formed the Love Canal Homeowner Association in order to raise awareness to the government. President Carter took notice and addressed a federal state of emergency; provided all residents a relocation permanently. legislative acts like the clean air and water acts were established to prevent this tragedy.
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