USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Also, EPA recently proposed a system to ensure that the more than 35 million tons of hazardous wastes produced in the U.S. each year, including most chemical wastes, are disposed of safely.

Detailed explanation-2: -Between 1942 and 1953, when it ceased disposal operations, the Hooker Electrochemical Company (now Occidental Chemical Corporation, or OXY) disposed of over 21, 000 tons of hazardous chemicals into the abandoned Love Canal, contaminating soil and groundwater.

Detailed explanation-3: -During the 1940s, the canal was purchased by Hooker Chemical Company, which used the site to dump 19, 800 t (19, 500 long tons; 21, 800 short tons) of chemical byproducts from the manufacturing of dyes, perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resins.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Love Canal area was originally the site of an abandoned canal that became a dumping ground for nearly 22, 000 tons of chemical waste (including polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxin, and pesticides) produced by the Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corporation in the 1940s and ‘50s.

Detailed explanation-5: -Clean up of Love Canal, which was funded by Superfund and completely finished in 2004, involved removing contaminated soil, installing drainage pipes to capture contaminated groundwater for treatment, and covering it with clay and plastic.