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Love Canal Script

Characters:
- Lois Marie Gibbs (kate) armchair (theater)
nice sweater and hair in bun. Big earrings.
- Documentary Narrator (clayton) playground (where??)
suite coat, tie, powdered hair?
- News person (marika) white wall back drop
turtle neck sweater, no earrings, hair back
- Hooker Chemical Company Spokesperson (max) Risinger's podium
suite and tie combo.
- health official (mark) Joureay's room
use lab coat, goggles around neck, something bubbling in background.
Microscope too.

Introduction (narrator voice over)


(pictures of damage playing in the back ground )
Quite simply, Love Canal is one of the most appalling environmental tragedies in
American history. [But what is truly disturbing is that] it cannot be regarded as an
isolated event. It could happen again--anywhere in this country--unless we move
expeditiously to prevent it.
Love Canal was originally meant to be a dream community. William T. Love.(the
community's original proprietor thought that ) by digging a short canal between the upper
and lower Niagara Rivers, power could be generated cheaply to fuel the industry and
homes of his would-be model city. [But his original plan failed to blossom]. By 1910, the
canal was abandoned. Then, in the 1920s the seeds of a genuine nightmare were planted.
The canal was turned into a municipal and industrial chemical dumpsite mainly used by
the Hooker Chemical Company. In 1953, covered the canal with earth and sold it to the
city for one dollar. In the late '50s, about 100 homes and a school were built at the site.
Perhaps it wasn't William T. Love's model city, but it was a solid, working-class
community. For a while. 1

1 1 Beck, Eckardt C. "The Love Canal Tragedy." [EPA Journal. Jan. Janua1979. Environmental
protection agency. 6 Apr. 2009.
2 Gibbs, Lois. "The Legacy of Love Canal." The Boston Globe 7 Aug. 1998. The Boston Globe. 7
Aug. 1998. NY Times Co. 31 Mar. 2009
<http://search.boston.com/local/Search.do?s.sm.query=The+legacy+of+Love+Canal+&s.author=Loi
s+Gibbs&s.tab=globe&s.si%28simplesearchinput%29.sortBy=-
articleprintpublicationdate&docType=&date=&s.startDate=1998-07-07&s.endDate=2009-12-31>.
3 Charles, Schmidt W. "Not so Superfund: Growing Needs vs. Declining Dollars." Environmental
Health Perspectives. III (March 2003): 162-65. PubMed Central. U.S. National Institutes of Health.
6 Apr. 2009 <http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1241403>.
Lois Gibbs
(setting:old style living room, dark lighting-sixty minutes like)

I was a young mother living in Niagara Falls, N.Y., just three blocks east of the Love
Canal dump site, which contained 20,000 tons of more than 200 different chemicals.
[after a while, I began to wonder why my children were getting re-accuring illnesses,
especially after long periods of time spent at school.] I set out to investigate whether my
neighbors' children were as sick as my children were. As I went door to door, I was
shocked to hear stories of birth defects, miscarriages, cancers, and the leaking of
multicolored chemical ooze into basements. My fears were confirmed -- our families
were at risk. 2

Narrator
(clayton walking in a playground)
From 1942 to 1953 a landfill in the Niagara Falls area known was the love canal, was
contaminated by the Hooker Chemical Company and then sold to the city after being
covered up by layers of dirt. The city then allowed homes and schools to be built over the
landfill. [it would be years later before the city's] people started to feel the effects of the
hazardous waste.
Beginning in August of 1978, the New York State Health Department investigated the
area. They found 82 chemicals, including a dozen potentially carcinogenic or cancer-
causing substances [in abnormally large quantities in everything from public lands,
backyards to the public drinking water supply and playgrounds]. 4

Hooker Company Spokesperson


(max press conference, people asking questions, behind podium)

“[the Hooker Chemical Company] chose the site [ as a chemical disposal site] because
the soil characteristic of the area–impermeable clay–and the sparse population
surrounding the Canal at the time made the pit outstandingly suitable for disposing of
dangerous chemical wastes.”5

Narrator
(voice over pictures of damage)

In 1953, the Hooker Chemical Company, then the owners and operators of the property,
covered the canal with earth and sold it to the city for one dollar ... In the late '50s, about
100 homes and a school were built at the site.[As more generations and new people
moved into the idilic neighborhood, the Love Canal population exploded.] 6

4 4 "The Legacy of Love Canal." Urban Education Partnership. 1997. 06 Apr. 2009
<http://www.laep.org/UCLASP/ISSUES/landfills/case_love.html>.
5 Zuesse, Eric. "Love Canal The Truth Seeps Out." Reason magazine Feb. 1991. 03 Apr.
2009 <http://reason.com/news/show/29326.html>.
6 "The Legacy of Love Canal."
Hooker Company official
(same place with people)
(Reading the deed giving the land to the government)

[ as it clearly states in the deed to the Hooker Chemical Disposal Site] “Prior to the
delivery of this instrument of conveyance, the grantee herein has been advised by the
grantor that the premises above described have been filled, in whole or in part, to the
present grade level thereof with waste products resulting from the manufacturing of
chemicals by the grantor at its plant in the City of Niagara Falls, New York, and the
grantee assumes all risk and liability incident to the use thereof. It is therefore understood
and agreed that, as a part of the consideration for this conveyance and as a condition
thereof, no claim, suit, action or demand of any nature whatsoever shall ever be made by
the grantee, its successors or assigns, against the grantor, its successors or assigns, for
injury to a person or persons, including death resulting there from, or loss of or damage to
property caused by, in connection with or by reason of the presence of said industrial
wastes.”7 [the Hooker chemical company can thus not be blamed for the problems now
facing the inhabitants of the Love Canal area, nor can a civil law suit be filed against this
company.]

Narrator
(playground)

Perhaps because they didn't understand the potential risks associated with Hooker's
chemical wastes, the Board of Education began in 1953 to construct an elementary school
on the canal property. Similarly, the Board had voted unanimously to [start work on] the
66th Street School. In August 1953, before construction work had begun on the school,
the Board voted (unanimously) to remove 4,000 cubic yards of "fill from the Love Canal
to complete the top grading" at the school. A set of architect’s plans dated August 18,
1955, reveals that another 10,000 cubic yards of soil were to be removed from the top of
the Canal in order to grade the surrounding area. [it was discovered later that both deeds
to the school contained multiple] references to radioactivity [and the possible health risks
it could pose to humans, but these references apparently] served as no deterrent [to the
school board]. The 99th Street School was completed by 1955, opening its doors to about
400 students each year.8
Lois Gibbs
(sixty minutes chair)

“When we moved into our house on 101st street in 1972, I didn’t even know love canal
was there. It was a lovely neighborhood in a quiet residential area, with lots of trees and
lost of children outside playing… We have two children – Michael, who was born just
before we moved in , and Melissa, born June 12, 1975… There was a school within
walking distance. I liked the idea of my children being able to walk to the 99th street
school. [But my view changed when my children were diagnosed with their health

7 Zuesse.
8 Zuesse.
problems. My son] developed epilepsy, and suffered from asthma, urinary tract infection
and had a low white blood cell count [than normal children]. Most of these symptoms I
was told were usually connected to an exposure to leaking chemical waste. Then in 1978,
I began to wonder whether the kids' recurring illnesses were connected to the chemical
wastes [I had heard were in the Love Canal area] I thought it was an urban legend. I was
wrong and my children had to pay the price.”9

Narrator
(voice over pictures of diseased children and pictures of damage)

Corroding waste-disposal drums could be seen breaking up through the grounds of


backyards. Trees and gardens were turning black and dying. One entire swimming pool
had been had been popped up from its foundation, afloat now on a small sea of
chemicals. Puddles of noxious substances were pointed out to me by the residents. Some
of these puddles were in their yards, some were in their basements, others yet were on the
school grounds. Everywhere the air had a faint, choking smell. Children returned from
play with burns on their hands and faces. 10

Lois Gibbs
(sixty minutes room)
“Research conducted by myself and several of my neighbors, coupled with our
complaints, eventually led the New York State health commissioner to declare a state of
emergency and close the area's 99th Street School (where my son Michael attended). I
remember the feelings of disgust and anger and fear when I learned that this toxic reality
was likely the cause of my son's illness. I remember the looks on the faces of my
neighbors as I went door to door and learned that they, too, had children with rare health
issues or had lost a child over something so preventable, so cruel and unthinkable.”11

News Person
(news room)
today, August 2, 1978, The U.S. Department of Health declared a state of emergency for
those residents in the New York Love Canal area. A press release was announced that
recommended that pregnant women and children under the age of 2 be evacuated from
the 239 homes closest to the dump as soon as possible. The releases also mandated that
the 99th Street School is closed immediately.In response to this announcement,New York
Governor Hugh Carey announced to the residents of the Canal that the State Government
wold purchase the homes affected by chemicals. President Carter also today approved
emergency financial aid for the Love Canal area (the first emergency funds ever to be

9 Magoc, Chris J. So glorious a landscape. New york: Published by Rowman &

Littlefield, 2002.
1 0 Beck.
11 Lois Marie Gibbs, Murray Levine. “Love Canal: my story.” Contributor Murray
Levine. Published by SUNY Press, 1982. ISBN 0873955889, 9780873955881
approved for something other than a "natural" disaster), and the U.S. Senate approved a
"sense of Congress" amendment saying that Federal aid should be forthcoming to relieve
the serious environmental disaster which had occurred. 12

Narrator (voice over damage)


By the month’s end, 98 families had already been evacuated. Another 46 had found
temporary housing. Soon after, all families would be gone from the most contaminated
areas – a total of 221 families have moved or agreed to be moved. 13

News Person (news room)

“February 8, 1979 – A second evacuation order was issued by the New York State
Department of Health. President Carter state of emergency has permitted the Federal
government and the State of New York to undertake the temporary relocation of
approximately 700 families in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, New York, who have
been exposed to toxic wastes deposited there by Hooker Chemical company.”[as of right
now estimated] State figures show more than 200 purchase offers for homes have been
made, totaling nearly $7 million.” 14

Health person

(in lab, reading from a report)


[The Love Canal Homeowners Association contacted my scientific research company
soon after the second evacuation was put into place. They wanted to know what
exactly were the results of being exposed to the chemicals for so long. After
researching many medical records and interviewing families in the Love Canal
area, we crunched the numbers and] found a significant increases in the number of
miscarriages, still births, crib deaths, nervous breakdowns, hyperactivity, epilepsy,
and urinary tract disorders in the love Canal population [as compared to pretty
much any other small town in the United States.]
LCHA also examined the pregnancies that occurred between January 1979 and February
1980, the construction period. This study found that out of 22 pregnancies occurring
among Love Canal women, only four normal babies were born. The rest of the
pregnancies ended in a miscarriage, stillbirth or a birth-defected child. The study also
showed that during the 5-year period from 1974 to 1978, 56% of the children in the Love
Canal neighborhood were born with a birth defect (9 birth defects among 16 children
born) that included three ears, double row of teeth, and mental retardation.15

1 2 Beck, Eckardt C.
1 3 "The Legacy of Love Canal."

1 4 "EPA, New York State Announce Temporary Relocation of Love Canal


Residents." Environmental protection agency history archives. 21 May 1980. U.s.
environmental protection agency. 03 Apr. 2009.
Many of the chemicals in Love Canal are also known to affect the kidneys and the
urinary system. The study showed an increase of almost 300% in urinary tract disorders.
LCHA found a great number of the canal children to have urinary tract disorders [than
any other small town in America in that time period].

When comparing the number of birth defects in historically “wet” areas 9as in homes
exposed to large quantities of the liquid chemical wastes) with homes outside these areas,
there were almost three times as many birth defects. Importantly, no birth defects were
found in homes located on the stream bed that did not cross the canal and whose drinking
water came from non-polluted sources.

When the observed miscarriages were compared to the number of miscarriages that
occurred in the same women before they moved to the Love Canal, miscarriages were
found to have increased 300%. Most of these miscarriages occurred in women who lived
in the historically wet areas. 16

Narrator

(voice over newspaper image)

Earlier this year, (May 21, 1980) President Carter agreed to evacuate an additional 900
families in a second evacuation of the New York Love Canal area.Bt it took him till today
(December 11) for President Carter to sign the new landmark legislation known as the
Superfund. This super fund is design to set aside $1.6 billion to pay for hazardous waste
cleanups across the country, with the intention that the Love Canal becomes the first
cleanup site. To start the clean up, the new york state’s Department of Environmental
Conservation has proposed to erect a barrier and drain collection system around the
perimeter of the 16 acres where the Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corporation had
dumped the waste. 17
[Clips of barriers and clean up efforts]

1 5 "EPA, New York State Announce Temporary Relocation of Love Canal


Residents."
1 6 "EPA, New York State Announce Temporary Relocation of Love Canal
Residents."
1 7 Vanhovek, Sam. "After 10 Years, the Trauma of Love Canal Continues." New
york times 5 Aug. 1988. New york times. 5 Aug. 1988. 3 Apr. 2009
<http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/05/nyregion/after-10-years-the-trauma-of-love-
canal-continues.html?pagewanted=2>.
News Person (news room reading off report)

OCCIDENTAL TO PAY $129 MILLION IN LOVE CANAL SETTLEMENT


WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a successful end to a toxic dump disaster
that became synonymous with the hazards of environmental
pollution, and that gave birth to the nation’s Superfund program
to clean up the most hazardous toxic waste sites, the Justice
Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced
today that the Occidental Chemical Corporation will pay the
government $129 million to cover the costs of the Love Canal
incident that began in the late 1970’s. The agreement results
from a Justice Department lawsuit filed 16 years ago after a
toxic waste nightmare forced the evacuation of more than one
thousand homes, an elementary school and an entire neighborhood.18

[Insert Scenes of Deserted land]

Lois Gibbs
(sixty minutes news room)
My neighbors and I were relieved that the government had finally taken responsibility
for protecting people and land from toxic pollution. The source of the program’s funding,
“polluters pay fees” was the most important aspect of this legislation. It held the polluters
accountable, and was a major victory for communities fighting toxic and chemical threats
everywhere. 19

News reporter (news room)

old estimates for clean up costs for the New york Love canal were severely
underestimated. Today, (March 14, 1998) the final Cash settlements totaling $6.75
million are distributed to 900 former residents for personal injury damages.20

1 8 US Department of Justice. "OCCIDENTAL TO PAY $129 MILLION IN


LOVE CANAL SETTLEMENT." Press release. OCCIDENTAL TO PAY $129
MILLION IN LOVE CANAL SETTLEMENT. 21 Dec. 1995. US Department of
Justice. 5 Apr. 2009 <http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/Pre_96/December95/638.txt.html>.
19 Lois Marie Gibbs, Murray Levine.
2 0 ""Love Canal - Niagara Falls, New York" Waymark." Super Fund Sites. EPA. 4
Apr. 2009 <http://www.waymarking.com/>.
A Government Official
(Reading a Report)

The profound and devastating effects of the Love Canal tragedy, in terms of human health
and suffering and environmental damage, cannot and probably will never be fully
measured.

The lessons we are learning from this modern-day disaster should serve as a warning for
governments at all levels and for private industry to take steps to avoid a repetition of
these tragic events. They must also serve as a reminder to be ever watchful for the tell-
tale signs of potential disasters and to look beyond our daily endeavors and plan for the
wellbeing of future generations.

We must improve our technological capabilities, supplant ignorance with knowledge and
be ever vigilant for those seemingly innocuous situations which may portend the
beginning of an environmental nightmare.21

Lois Gibbs (chair)

[The love Canal is just a] small glimpse of the tragedy, death, and human suffering that
that occurred in our community [that] will expose that way officials and experts” will
react to people in their times of need]”22

21 0 “Special Report to the Governor and Legislature: September, 1978To


Governor Hugh L. Carey and Members of the New York State Legislature.” New York
State Department of Health. 2 Aug. 1975. 2 Apr. 2009
<http://www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/investigations/love_canal/lctimbmb.htm>.
22 Lois Marie Gibbs, Murray Levine.

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