Analysis of Hazardous Waste Management: Love Canal and Hickory Woods

This report delves into the critical aspects of hazardous waste management, using the Love Canal and Hickory Woods incidents as case studies to analyze the detrimental effects of toxic waste on communities. It examines the Love Canal disaster, detailing its impact on public health, the ensuing environmental activism, and the development of global environmental protection agencies. The report further investigates the cleanup efforts, the challenges of re-inhabiting contaminated areas, and the effectiveness of hazardous waste regulations, as illustrated by the Blake family's experience in Hickory Woods. The analysis extends to how health issues experienced by residents should influence regulations, emphasizing the importance of aligning policies with World Health Organization guidelines and addressing public health impacts when definitive links to contamination are elusive. The report underscores the necessity for comprehensive strategies, including statistical and epidemiological expertise, and community-focused approaches to mitigate the adverse effects of environmental disasters and ensure public safety.

Running Head: WASTE MANAGEMENT 1
Hazardous Waste Management
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date of Submission

WASTE MANAGEMENT 2
How did the Love Canal incident influence the way we deal with toxic waste in America?
According to Kalasnik (2017), a dump with over 20,000 tons of leaking toxic chemicals
happened to have been buried underneath a school found in Niagara Falls, New York. There
were a lot of health concerns that arose from the same. Some of these health concerns were:
i) Cases of cancer
ii) Miscarriage cases
iii) Rare infections
iv) Birth defects.
This was the first human-made disaster ever to be considered to cause a state of emergency in the
US. The situation then became a lesson to the state concerning the impact of pollution to the
society. It is due to such effects that the Love Canal issue got a lot of attention from the media. It
was also a turning point for the world’s history regarding environmental justice (Kalasnik, 2017).
Love Canal is an important lesson on the detrimental effects of environmental calamities and
injustices. With regards to the incident, Global Environmental Protection Agencies have been
developed. Such agencies have promoted environmental activism in the grassroots
(GALARNEAU, 2017). The agencies, particularly in America, ensure that communities that are
marginalized, contaminated, and disempowered are strengthened and movements initiated with
proper leadership to reduce the level of toxicity in such areas (Kalasnik, 2017)
Do you think that the area around Love Canal should have been inhabited after the
cleanup? Would you move into such an area? Why, or why not?

WASTE MANAGEMENT 3
The process of cleaning up the area alone tool about twenty-one years to complete. The exercise
also cost about $400 million. However, even after the clean up, the Environmental Protection
Agency still declared the place unfit for re-settlement (Depalma, 2017). Having the area taken
off the list of places that are environmentally disastrous proves to be a tough nut to crack for the
agency. The situation caused trauma to lots of individuals who were directly or indirectly
affected by the same. However, with a lot of mental therapy, there is a chance that the people
once again inhabit the place will feel the vibrancy of the area and feel happy being in the
neighborhood they once lived in (Depalma, 2017).
Regarding whether I would reside in that area or not depends on the cleanup process has been
certified to be well done and that every source of pollution managed. In this case, the industrial
chemicals have been cleaned up and the whole area lined with materials that are impermeable as
well as clay capped. I would therefore move to the area.
What does the Blake family’s story indicate about the effectiveness of our hazardous waste
regulations?
The renowned Patrick and Jennifer Blake planted a lot of flowers in their garden in Hickory
Woods neighborhood (Morales, 2017). Their dream was however, to fill their large house with
children. It was not until they began holes digging that they noticed some shiny clumps and jet-
black ash fill their yard. Later, after the birth of their son, he began suffering from sluggish
development. Currently being eight years old, the child cannot speak and also not able to see.
From the same, there are homes as well as schools that have been erected around the area that
once had waste chemicals. However, there have been health problems resulting into several
residents wishing to leave. However, they couldn’t be able to sell their apartment. The whole
incident changes the way citizens viewed toxic waste thus leading to the formulation of policies

WASTE MANAGEMENT 4
and laws. However, the laws were viewed to be superficial and the Public Interest Research
Group criticized them (Morales, 2017).
What more should be done to prevent situations like Hickory Woods?
As much as it has been acknowledged that the neighborhood of Hickory Woods was
contaminated, the country’s health department declared that there was wasn’t any immediate
risk. However, the nation launched financial man power to have the city cleaned. However, to
ensure that everything is back to absolute normal, more agencies should be formulated to ensure
that as much as the city is cleaned up, individuals also get support to remove the trauma. Such
will ensure that people live in the cleanup areas as normal (Morales, 2017).
Discuss your thoughts on how the health issues experienced by the Hickory Woods and
Love Canal residents should impact regulations.
From the incident, the regulations on health should be formulated with regards to the
requirements of the World Health Organization. The policies should ensure that health service
provision will depend, on the allocated resources by the government. The policies would
therefore influence government expenditure on the sectors of public health. On the same, the
economic and social factors regarding the retention and distribution of resources would be
determined by public requirements.
When public health impacts cannot be definitively linked to contamination, how should the
government respond?
There are certain health events such as injuries, chronic diseases, and birth defects not exactly
linked to exposure to contamination. However, there is a systematic approach, in which such
health events would be done. Some of these approaches would include having statistical and
epidemiologic expertise incorporated in the medical operations (CDC, 2017). The social

WASTE MANAGEMENT 5
dimensions of such clusters should be investigated for the purposes of maintaining a critical
relationship within the community (CDC, 2017).

WASTE MANAGEMENT 6
Reference
CDC. (2017). Guidelines for Investigating Clusters of Health Events. Cdc.gov. Retrieved 12
September 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/Mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001797.htm
Depalma, A. (2017). Love Canal Declared Clean, Ending Toxic Horror. Nytimes.com. Retrieved
12 September 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/nyregion/love-canal-
declared-clean-ending-toxic-horror.html?mcubz=1
GALARNEAU, A. (2017). RECURRING TOXIC NIGHTMARES ; 25 YEARS AFTER LOVE
CANAL, GIBBS AGHAST AT ALL THE TORMENT ELSEWHERE. Highbeam.com.
Retrieved 12 September 2017, from https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-22577132.html
Kalasnik, M. (2017). Lessons from Love Canal: toxic expertise and environmental justice.
openDemocracy. Retrieved 12 September 2017, from
https://www.opendemocracy.net/alice-mah/lessons-from-love-canal-toxic-expertise-and-
environmental-justice
Morales, T. (2017). Is This The Next Love Canal?. Cbsnews.com. Retrieved 12 September 2017,
from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-this-the-next-love-canal/
Newsweek Staff. (2003). LOVE CANAL'S LONG SHADOW 25 YEARS LATER. Newsweek.
Retrieved 12 September 2017, from http://www.newsweek.com/love-canals-long-
shadow-25-years-later-135561