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President Carter responded by declaring the <br /> neighborhood covering six blocks from the canal <br /> as a federal emergency area in May of 1980. Four <br /> hundred more families were then evacuated. Their <br /> homes were boarded up and purchased with <br /> state and federal funds. Several lawsuits were <br /> filed againstthe HookerChemical Company. Their <br /> outcome will determine who will pay the costs of <br /> buying the homes, cleaning up the canal, and <br /> All caring for the families. <br /> What will become of the Love Canal neighbor- <br /> hood? The school and 227 homes near the canal <br /> have been demolished. Plans to have people <br /> move into some of the empty homes remaining <br /> are underway. In an attempt to make the area <br /> safe,the canal has been capped with a new layer <br /> of clay. Trenches with drainage pipes have been <br /> built on both sides of the canal to capture chemi- <br /> cally contaminated leachate. <br /> But safety is still a major concern. In 1982 the <br /> 9) federal government declared that houses more <br /> than a block and a half away from the canal were <br /> safe to live in. But a year later cnemica s were <br /> discovered to be leaking from the canal and re- <br /> settlement plans were put on hold. When and if <br /> the area will be safe is still unknown. A more fright- <br /> ening unknown concerning families who fled the <br /> Love Canal is what the long-term health effects <br /> will be for themselves and children yet to be born. <br /> i <br /> • <br /> The No Waste Anthology 161 <br />