“If we move to another location, isn’t that just like moving from the burner on a hot stove into a flaming barbeque?”
“You have a good point there, Natalie, since one area in Western New York has just as many environmental problems as another. Cousin Phil lives relatively close to not one, but two Superfund sites. One is down the road from him on Jamison Road near Seneca Street. You’ve probably heard of the Moog Corporation. The other is in town on Main Street in what used to be a dry cleaning facility. The latter may have restored stained clothes to their original beauty, but the chemicals used in the process didn’t help the planet, at all,” said Charles.
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“Dear, refresh my memory about Superfund sites,” said Natalie.
“They were first created in 1980s by the United States government because of Love Canal and Times Beach in Missouri. Their purpose is to clean up toxic, hazardous waste sites – tens of thousands of them have been located since the fund was set up. The remediation is to be performed by the responsible parties – maybe irresponsible is the word that should be used here, since they caused the problem.
Wendy offered her thoughts. “It’s sad that these greedy companies pollute in the first place, but then don’t take care of the mess they brought about, thus leaving the burden on the taxpayers. The corporations should be opening their wallets for cleanup if they mess up the water, air or land areas because of their manufacturing processes. They did the damage.”
“If you live in the state of New York and really want to cringe, go to the web site nypirg.org and enter your zip code. It will list the toxic sites close to where you reside. Entering a few different locations in the Buffalo area will reveal areas named Love Canal and Hickory Woods – they sound so pleasing – which aren’t good places for two- or four-legged animals,” replied Charles Those two areas were built on toxic grounds.
Not long ago Love Canal was declared safe to move 46
back into. I don’t see the person who made this judgment buying a house there. Besides Bellevue, Tonawanda and Lewiston, there are a few other areas such as 898 East Ferry Street and West Valley, the home of nuclear waste. West Valley really should be moved before the entire water supply of the Great Lakes is affected. Not far away is Gowanda, an area that prospered because of a tannery. The amount of sickness in the area, especially cancer, is more than any control group experiences.
A not-so-nice endeavor began in the 1940s with the Manhattan Project, which built weapons of mass destruction (WMD). They weren’t called that at the time, but bombs aren’t very user-friendly.
Western New York played a role in that horrible project and the results have harmed the environment, the people, their pets, deer, woodchucks, birds and other living creatures in the area. The effects are long lasting.
Natalie said, “I hate to spoil the party, but it’s dinnertime. We can continue this discussion after eating.
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