02942cam a2200325 i 4500 550985729 TxAuBib 20220425120000.0 210911s2022||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2021038250 9780593318430 HRD 30.00 0593318439 HRD 30.00 TxAuBib rda O'Brien, Keith, 1973- Paradise falls. Paradise falls [BOOK] : the true story of an environmental catastrophe / Keith O'Brien. First edition. New York : Pantheon Books, [2022] xi, 455 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Includes bibliographical references and index. Lois Gibbs, Luella Kenny, and other mothers loved their neighborhood on the east side of Niagara Falls. It had an elementary school, a playground, and rows of affordable homes. But in the spring of 1977, pungent odors began to seep into these little houses, and it didn’t take long for worried mothers to identify the curious scent. It was the sickly sweet smell of chemicals. In this propulsive work of narrative storytelling, NYT journalist Keith O’Brien uncovers how Gibbs and Kenny exposed the poisonous secrets buried in their neighborhood. The school and playground had been built atop an old canal—Love Canal, it was called—that Hooker Chemical, the city’s largest employer, had quietly filled with twenty thousand tons of toxic waste in the 1940s and 1950s. This waste was now leaching to the surface, causing a public health crisis the likes of which America had never seen before and sparking new and specific fears. Luella Kenny believed the chemicals were making her son sick. O’Brien braids together previously unknown stories of Hooker Chemical’s deeds; the local newspaperman, scientist, and congressional staffer who tried to help; the city and state officials who didn’t; and the heroic women who stood up to corporate and governmental indifference to save their families and their children. They would take their fight all the way to the top, winning support from the EPA, the White House, and even President Jimmy Carter. By the time it was over, they would capture America’s imagination. Provided by publisher. 20220425. Chemical plants Waste disposal Environmental aspects New York (State) Niagara Falls. Hazardous waste sites New York (State) Niagara Falls. Pollution Physiological effect New York (State) Niagara Falls. Hazardous waste site remediation New York (State) Niagara Falls Citizen participation. Love Canal Chemical Waste Landfill (Niagara Falls, N.Y) History.