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ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus

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in the Wondery app or on

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Apple Podcasts. Wondery Plus The

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Wondery App It's

0:23

a Saturday afternoon in 1960 in

0:25

a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls,

0:27

New York. Eileen

0:29

Voorhees trumps down the stairs to the

0:31

basement of her small house. She

0:34

carries a bag of clothes under her left arm

0:36

and runs her right hand along the banister. The

0:39

wood is solid and smooth, polished even

0:41

though it's the stairs to the basement.

0:44

It's a small thing, but it's details like this

0:46

that makes Eileen proud of her home. Eileen

0:49

and her husband Edwin built this house themselves,

0:52

and they and their young children just moved

0:54

in less than two years ago. They

0:56

were excited to find a plot of land they

0:58

could afford on her husband's salary. And

1:01

the area is quickly growing, filling with other

1:03

families looking for a comfortable, safe place to

1:05

raise their children. But

1:07

as Eileen descends the stairs, she's hit

1:10

with a sharp, plasticy smell that feels

1:12

like it's burning her nose hairs. She

1:15

sighs, frustrated, because she knows the odor

1:17

well. The neighborhood was built

1:19

next to an old landfill, and the

1:21

scent of chemicals sometimes fills the air.

1:24

But it's one thing to smell the chemicals outside.

1:27

It's another to discover them inside your own home.

1:30

Lately, that's been happening more and more often.

1:34

Eileen follows her nose to the bottom of the

1:36

stairs, and across the basement to the source of

1:38

the smell. On the

1:40

far wall, she sees a gooey, black

1:42

tar-like substance seeping through the exposed cinder

1:45

blocks of the wall. Eileen

1:50

plunks a bag of clothes on the floor and

1:53

hollers to her husband. Edwin,

1:55

can we come down here? Yeah, what's

1:57

wrong? It's back! Okay,

2:00

well don't panic. We'll fix it. Hal,

2:03

we've already applied two coats of sealant. It's

2:05

not working. Alright, alright. Let

2:07

me take a look. We will try something else.

2:10

Well, I think you should call the city again.

2:12

Maybe they have some ideas. I've already done that

2:14

three times. They never return my call. But

2:17

I guess that's a good thing. It means they're not

2:19

concerned about it. Or maybe they don't want to take

2:21

responsibility. Come on, if they really thought

2:23

the chemicals buried around here were dangerous, do you think

2:25

they'd let us build our house here? I don't

2:28

know. I'm looking at this stuff

2:30

and it seems toxic. Well, we know

2:32

this land used to belong to Hooker Chemical. And we know

2:34

a bunch of people who used to work for Hooker and

2:36

they're fine. Whatever chemicals are

2:38

in that goo, I'm sure it's harmless. Just

2:41

an ugly, smelly pain in the neck. Well,

2:43

I hope you're right. Listen, look, I'll add

2:45

another sun pump. Maybe with two, we can

2:47

get rid of this stuff. I'll

2:50

go to the hardware store this afternoon. Okay.

2:52

But I'm going to tell the kids to

2:54

stay out of the basement. Oh, I don't

2:56

think that's necessary. If it makes

2:58

you feel better, sure. I mean, we'll get this figured

3:00

out. Don't worry. I know, but

3:02

it's our home. All homes

3:04

have problems. My parents' house, they're plumbing back

3:06

up all the time. Tree roots. This

3:09

is just how across the barrier. I bet

3:11

a second sun pump will do the trick. And if

3:13

it doesn't work, we'll come up with something else. Eileen

3:16

nods and Edwin rubs her back reassuringly,

3:18

then heads upstairs while she loads the

3:21

laundry into the washing machine. Before

3:23

she leaves the basement, Eileen casts one

3:25

last look at her oozing wall. She

3:28

knows Edwin's right. All houses have their issues.

3:31

But this black goo looks like something out of

3:33

a horror movie. Eileen shakes

3:35

her head. She's likely being ridiculous, letting

3:37

her imagination get away from her. This

3:40

is just an annoyance. A few chemicals seeping

3:42

into the house. Niagara Falls

3:45

is practically built on chemicals. Nearly

3:47

all of their friends work at one of the big chemical

3:49

plants that mine the river. So

3:51

it's nothing to be worried about. Or

3:54

at least that's what Eileen tries to tell her. American

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Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this

5:33

is American Scandal. In

5:47

1892, a man named William T. Love arrived in

5:49

Niagara Falls, New York with a visual of

6:00

building a new utopian city. The

6:03

key to his model city was an 11-mile canal that

6:06

would connect the city to the powerful

6:08

Niagara waterfall, providing cheap electricity for residents.

6:11

But after only a mile of canal

6:13

had been dug, the economy crashed and

6:15

the project was abandoned. The

6:17

ditch sat empty for nearly 50 years

6:19

until 1942 when

6:21

the Hooker Chemical Company started using it

6:23

as a waste disposal area. For

6:26

10 years, they filled the unused canal

6:28

with metal drums full of chemicals. Then

6:31

in the early 1950s, the open land

6:33

surrounding the canal was turned into a residential

6:35

neighborhood. The canal itself was covered

6:37

over with landfill and turned into a park,

6:40

and at one end of it, the city

6:42

built an elementary school. The Blue

6:44

Collar families who lived in the Love Canal

6:46

area thought they'd achieved the American dream. Not

6:49

far from the banks of Niagara River,

6:51

it was an idyllic neighborhood full of

6:53

leafy trees, singing birds and kids playing

6:55

in the streets. But throughout the

6:57

1950s and 60s, residents

6:59

began noticing strange substances and odors

7:02

in their homes and yards. Children

7:04

playing in the park discovered the presence

7:07

of fire rocks, which would spontaneously ignite

7:09

if you threw them onto the sidewalk.

7:12

Sticks dipped in the local creek would come

7:14

out black. Most

7:16

residents had heard that there were chemicals buried

7:19

in the old canal, but few thought they

7:21

were dangerous, because many of them worked for

7:23

companies like Hooker themselves and the toxicity of

7:25

certain chemicals was not well known at the

7:27

time. The economy of Niagara

7:30

Falls was so dependent on chemical production

7:32

that some locals called the foul odors

7:34

the smell of money. But

7:36

over time, the toxic substances buried

7:38

at Love Canal became impossible to

7:41

ignore. Finally, in the

7:43

1970s, a group of ordinary citizens,

7:45

led by a courageous housewife, began

7:47

a years-long fight to expose the

7:49

dangers of Love Canal and protect

7:51

the area's residents. They fought

7:54

corporations and politicians who did their best

7:56

to minimize the problem, and

7:58

along the way, this unlikely group

8:00

of activists forever changed the way the

8:02

United States deals with chemical waste sites.

8:05

This is episode one, the education

8:07

of Lois Gibbs. It's

8:13

1977, 17 years after Eileen Voorhees found black

8:18

goo seeping through her basement walls. And

8:21

in a drab municipal building in Porter, New

8:23

York, Mike Brown is sitting in a metal

8:25

folding chair struggling to stay awake. Brown

8:28

is a reporter with a Niagara

8:30

Gazette, and he's here covering another

8:32

boring community meeting. At

8:34

the front of the room, an executive from

8:36

a chemical disposal company is explaining their plans

8:39

to dig a new pit in town to

8:41

store chemical waste. Porter residents

8:43

are not pleased with the proposal. The

8:45

company already has six pits in town and

8:47

they don't want another. But

8:49

it's largely old news, and Brown stifles a

8:52

yawn and lightly flaps his cheek trying to

8:54

keep himself awake. This isn't a

8:56

hard hitting journalism that made him want to

8:58

become a reporter. But he hopes if he

9:00

does a good job covering community meetings like

9:02

this, he'll work his way up to a

9:04

more exciting beat. Finally,

9:06

the chemical company executive wraps up the

9:08

spiel and opens the floor to questions.

9:11

A city council member directs attendees to a

9:13

microphone at the side of the room and

9:15

one by one residents line up to speak.

9:18

Brown readies his pen and notepad, preparing

9:20

to jot down any good quotes. But

9:23

instead of talking about the pit proposal,

9:25

the first resident launches into a diatribe

9:27

about the trash collection schedule. Brown

9:30

sighs and caps his pen. There's

9:32

always someone wildly off topic at these

9:34

meetings. Eventually, the city

9:36

council member convinces the man to sit back

9:38

down and give the next person the chance

9:40

to speak. Brown checks his watch

9:42

trying to figure out if this will wrap up in

9:45

time for him to grab a sandwich. But

9:47

the voice of the next speaker pulls his attention back

9:49

to the meeting. Brown looks up

9:51

and sees a young woman standing at the microphone.

9:54

Her voice shakes as she introduces herself and says she's not

9:56

from Porter. Brown can tell she's not from Porter. She's

10:00

nervous and he wonders what inspired this woman

10:02

to come to this community meeting if she

10:04

doesn't even live here. The

10:06

woman says she's from Niagara Falls, about

10:08

20 minutes away, in a neighborhood near

10:10

Love Canal. She claims that

10:12

her neighborhood has been ruined by chemicals and

10:15

that her friends and neighbors have started getting

10:17

sick. Rounds sits up

10:19

and uncaps his pen. This meeting

10:21

has suddenly gotten more interesting. The

10:24

woman then turns to address the audience directly

10:27

and, finding back tears, she says the

10:29

porter residents have to prevent this company

10:31

from building another pit because if they

10:33

don't, Porter will turn into another Love

10:35

Canal. Tears stream

10:37

down the woman's cheeks as she returns

10:39

to her seat, unable to say anything

10:41

more. And in his chair in

10:44

the back of the room, Brown Jots

10:46

Love Canal in his notebook. His

10:48

reporter's instincts are vibrating. Whatever

10:51

is causing this woman so much distress,

10:53

Brown needs to investigate further. Soon

10:59

after attending the meeting in Porter, Mike Brown

11:02

starts looking into Love Canal to find out

11:04

if there's something going on there that's worth

11:06

reading about. He starts digging

11:08

through the archives at the Niagara Gazette, but

11:11

he finds very little reporting on the place. And

11:13

to him, that's a good thing. Even though it

11:15

doesn't give him much to go on, it could mean

11:18

there's a story here for him to break. In

11:21

his research, Brown learns that until

11:23

the 1950s, Love Canal was used as

11:25

a dump site by a company called

11:27

Hooker Chemical. Brown

11:29

knows Hooker well. It's one of the largest

11:31

employers in the city. It makes a wide

11:33

variety of products, including a potent insecticide called

11:36

Myron. But what Brown

11:38

did not know before reading these articles is

11:40

that Hooker sold the Love Canal property to

11:42

the Niagara Falls School Board as a site

11:44

for an elementary school in He

11:48

also learns that the company's chemicals had started

11:50

to leak out of the canal and into

11:52

the surrounding area. Brown

11:54

can't find anything written about the health problems described

11:56

by the woman at the porter meeting. In

11:59

fact, one... One article published just a few

12:01

months ago states that the chemicals in Love

12:03

Canal pose only a slight health risk. In

12:07

the same article, city health officials acknowledged that

12:09

the chemicals had an unpleasant odor and encouraged

12:11

parents to prevent their kids from digging in

12:13

the ground near the canal. But

12:15

overall, they said the chemicals were not dangerous.

12:19

Brown follows up with reporters in the office who

12:21

covered the store, and none of them are concerned.

12:24

They say the leakage seems to be affecting only

12:26

a handful of homes and the city's working to

12:28

contain it. In their view, there's no

12:30

story at Love Canal. And

12:32

after digging even further, Brown is inclined to

12:35

agree. Whatever the woman in Porter

12:37

was warning about seems to have been overblown. So

12:40

Brown forgets about Love Canal and goes back to

12:42

his regular beat. But a

12:44

few months later, in the fall of 1977, Brown

12:48

has a random encounter that changes his mind.

12:51

That day, he's in a corporate office building

12:53

in nearby Buffalo, New York, following up a

12:55

lead on another story. And

12:58

as he's waiting for the elevator, he overhears

13:00

a tall man with a southern accent mention

13:02

the name Love Canal. From

13:05

Brown's earlier digging, he knows that one

13:07

of the consultants investigating the Love Canal

13:09

leak has offices in this very building,

13:11

and he begins to wonder if this man is working

13:13

with that consultancy. The

13:19

elevator doors open, and the tall man says goodbye

13:21

to his friend and lobby. Both

13:23

he and Brown step inside. Brown

13:26

is still skeptical that there's any real story with

13:28

Love Canal, but he can't pass up

13:30

the opportunity to ask this man a few questions.

13:33

So when the doors close, Brown makes his

13:35

move. Excuse me, I

13:37

couldn't help but overhear you in the lobby. I

13:39

tell you, you're not from around here? No, I'm

13:42

from New Orleans, just in town to

13:44

do some consulting. Can I ask on what?

13:47

Chemicals found in Niagara Falls. Love

13:49

Canal? Oh, you've heard of it? Yeah,

13:51

I'm a reporter, and I've done some looking into it.

13:53

How's it going? Well, it's incredible.

13:55

Every time I go to this site, I'm

13:58

more amazed by what I see there. There's

14:00

a whole host of chemicals in the ground. Brown

14:03

pulls out his notebook. Hoker

14:05

hasn't supplied a list or something of everything

14:07

they stored there, not to my

14:09

knowledge. The man then

14:12

hesitates, glancing down at Brown's notebook, but

14:14

he continues. Well, to

14:16

be honest, I'm getting more and more worried about what

14:18

might be buried down there. You're

14:20

worried? Yeah, and I'm not the only

14:23

one. Other consultants working on the project

14:25

are starting to suspect that this is a

14:27

much bigger problem than we originally did. Oh,

14:30

is there a chance that the chemicals buried

14:32

there could be hurting people living

14:34

in the neighborhood? Well, there's no

14:36

way to know that until someone digs them up and sees

14:38

what's there. The man pauses

14:41

again, looking at the floor numbers change

14:43

as the elevator rises. For a

14:45

moment, Brown worries that the man's having second thoughts about

14:47

saying any of this to a reporter. But

14:49

then just as they reach the man's floor, he speaks

14:52

again. You

14:54

know, I will say this, and you can quote me. If

14:56

you don't find out what's in that canal, your

14:59

children or your children's children are going to start

15:01

having problems. Brown stares

15:03

at the man. This is the

15:05

kind of quote reporters kill for. But

15:07

more than that, the sentiment behind the quote

15:10

has convinced Brown that there is a story

15:12

here after all. The

15:17

elevator doors open, and the man steps off

15:19

with a nod to Brown. Brown

15:21

nods back, and as the doors close, he

15:23

writes down the quote in his notebook. Brown's

15:27

not done looking into Love Canal.

15:29

He's just getting started. After

15:35

his conversation with a consultant, Mike Brown

15:38

starts working the phones, trying to find

15:40

out what chemicals are buried in Love

15:42

Canal and what the government is doing about

15:44

it. Hooker Chemical gives him

15:47

the runaround, refusing to turn over any

15:49

kind of list of what chemicals they might have dumped

15:51

at the site. Brown learns

15:53

that the newly formed Environmental Protection

15:55

Agency has begun testing to find

15:57

out what's there. Everyone

16:00

acknowledges that there are chemicals leaking out

16:02

of love to now and that they

16:04

need to be contained. The problem it

16:06

seems is that no one wants to

16:08

pay for a full scale cleanup. Hooker

16:11

Chemical, the city, the school board and

16:13

the federal government all think someone else

16:16

should foot the bill. So the clean

16:18

up project stall before it begins. In.

16:21

There also seems to be no sense of

16:23

urgency. Health officials a sewer brown

16:25

that the danger to residents minimal. Brown.

16:28

Isn't so sure? When. He walks

16:30

around the canal area is i stink

16:33

and he struggles. brief. He.

16:35

Decides to start interviewing residents to

16:37

see if they're experiencing anything similar

16:39

or worse. And in

16:41

Nineteen Seventy Eight, so he knocks on the door

16:43

of a small house adjacent to the canal. A

16:46

middle aged woman opens the door and

16:48

brown introduces himself. And. Then asked

16:50

to She's had any encounters with chemicals buried

16:52

in the love canal? The. Woman,

16:55

let's out a snort. She gives

16:57

her name is Eileen Voorhees and so

16:59

she has plenty of experience with those

17:01

chemicals. She. Welcomes Brown and

17:03

Sign and escorts him down into the basement.

17:05

Her. Husband Edwin join some and as

17:08

they descend the stairs, Brown has

17:10

hit with an intense astrid smell

17:12

Edwin in Eileen So Brown, a

17:14

sick black substance that's bleeding through

17:17

the wall. Around steps

17:19

back, distinctively wanting to be as far

17:21

away from that black drunk as possible.

17:24

But. I lean and Edwin explain that has

17:26

been seeping into their house for nearly twenty

17:28

years. Or So Brown a homemade

17:30

daughter running along a base for the wall

17:32

and attempt to catch the flow and channel

17:34

it outside. As only their

17:37

latest attempt to stop. Can't

17:39

take the smell anymore so suggests

17:42

they continue this conversation upstairs. And

17:44

once the settled in the living room with

17:47

brown quietly asked of or he says if

17:49

they've experienced any health problems. I.

17:51

Say not personally. Several trees in

17:53

their backyard of dust. And

17:55

they're concerned that all the dead trees are lowering

17:58

the value of their property. Brown.

18:00

Nods and then asks about their

18:02

neighbors. To. They know of anyone on

18:04

the block who said unusual medical consists. Voorhees.

18:08

Exchange plants. Then. I

18:10

lean explains that their daughter lives just a

18:12

few doors down net. Ten years ago she

18:14

had a child who was born with several

18:17

birth defects. Or the whole on

18:19

the little girl's heart. She was partially deaf

18:21

and had some bone deformities. Recently.

18:23

She's also been diagnosed with an enlarged

18:26

liver. Brown. Leans

18:28

forward in the and asked if their

18:30

daughter has the same black do coming

18:32

into her house. But. Edwin shakes his

18:34

head know. Still, A few

18:36

years ago their daughter swimming pool suddenly

18:38

push to feet above ground. When.

18:41

She and her husband tried replace it. The

18:43

whole where the pool had been filled up

18:45

with yellow and orange liquid. And

18:48

when his and quick to add that he doesn't take

18:50

any this has to do with his granddaughters health issues.

18:52

But. Brown remembers what the consultant in the

18:55

elevator told. Residents, children

18:57

and grandchildren could develop problems.

19:00

So Brown think there might be a connection. After

19:02

a while Brown thanks to couple for their

19:05

to and continues to knock on doors along

19:07

they're stressed. Over the course of

19:09

the next few months he speaks to

19:11

people experiencing everything from asthma, Much

19:14

more serious health. Round

19:18

starting to realize that the situations

19:20

in Love Canal isn't just a

19:22

story as a crisis. He's

19:24

determined to sound the alarm. Do.

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21:10

in the Niagara Gazette about the chemicals

21:12

leaking from Love Canal and how they're

21:14

affecting the houses and residents adjacent to

21:16

it. He writes about the

21:18

black sludge invading the Voorhees' basement and

21:20

the chemical-filled groundwater at their daughter's house.

21:23

He also details the various health problems

21:26

people living near the canal have experienced.

21:29

The headlines are big and bold, proclaiming

21:31

chemicals could be dangerous. Now

21:33

they're alarmed, both for their health and

21:35

their property values. One

21:37

of the people reading Brown's articles is a

21:39

young mother named Lois Gibbs. Gibbs

21:42

grew up 10 miles from Niagara Falls,

21:44

and she had a rough childhood. So

21:47

when she got married and bought a house

21:49

on 101st Street, two blocks east of Love

21:51

Canal, she was determined that it would be

21:53

a loving and safe home for her two

21:55

children, Michael and Missy. But

21:58

recently she's grown concerned about the house. Michael's

22:00

health. Shortly after

22:02

starting kindergarten at the 99th

22:04

Street Elementary School, Michael started

22:06

having seizures. The doctor

22:08

diagnosed him with epilepsy, but couldn't explain

22:10

why Michael had developed the disorder. There's

22:13

no history of epilepsy in the families of

22:15

either Lois or her husband Harry. Then

22:18

Gibbs read Brown's stories about the potential

22:20

toxicity of the chemicals in Love Canal.

22:23

According to Brown's articles, the 99th Street

22:26

School is built directly on top of

22:28

the old chemical dump site, and

22:30

Brown is reporting that people who live

22:32

nearby are experiencing health problems. So

22:35

Gibbs starts to wonder if the chemicals under

22:37

Michael's school are the cause of his seizures.

22:40

She worries that she's being paranoid. Brown's

22:42

articles don't say anything about the kids at

22:45

the school being in danger, but

22:47

no matter how hard Gibbs tries, she can't

22:49

get the thought out of her head. So

22:52

she decides to confer with her brother-in-law,

22:54

Wayne Hadley, who's a biology professor at

22:56

the University of Buffalo. The

22:58

next time Gibbs sees him, she tells

23:00

Hadley about the articles in the Gazette

23:03

and asks if it's possible for Michael

23:05

to develop epilepsy from the chemicals buried

23:07

under the school. Hadley

23:09

can't say for sure, especially since they

23:11

don't know what specific chemicals are in

23:13

Love Canal. What he doesn't think

23:15

Gibbs is being paranoid. So

23:17

after conferring with her brother-in-law, Gibbs

23:20

decides she doesn't want Michael attending

23:22

the 99th Street School anymore. In

23:26

the late spring of 1978, Gibbs calls the superintendent

23:30

of the Niagara Falls School District to

23:32

request a transfer from Michael. Gibbs

23:34

is shy and hates asking for favors,

23:37

but she forces herself to push through

23:39

her anxiety. And after being

23:41

placed on hold, she hears the superintendent's

23:43

gruff voice. Yes, what can I do for

23:45

you? Hi, my name's Lois

23:47

Gibbs. My son Michael is enrolled at

23:49

the 99th Street Elementary School. Okay.

23:52

I'd like him to be transferred to another school. Well,

23:54

I'm afraid that's not possible. Oh, I'm sorry.

23:57

I didn't mean this school year. I mean, there's

23:59

only a little left in the... Hi! I'm next. If

24:02

your son is assigned to Ninety Nine Street and

24:04

that's where he has to go, I can be

24:06

moving students around willy nilly. Of his

24:08

it's not Willy Nilly Mice Michael has epilepsy.

24:10

it's and and only started after he began

24:12

attending a nice treat this fall. I think

24:15

the chemicals under the school cost of. I'm

24:18

sorry for his son's condition. Or. It's

24:20

not because of the school. Read

24:22

some reports that say there are chemicals

24:25

in the ground there that are dangerous.

24:27

Smith, There's any possibility they're making my

24:29

sunset and I don't want him attending

24:31

that school. When I don't know what

24:34

you've read, I'm telling you the school

24:36

has been tested and it's It's making

24:38

him sit. Dude, you have any proof

24:40

that chemicals causes epilepsy? Were trying to

24:43

prove. Well. I'll tell you what

24:45

if you can get to doctors to write

24:47

letters saying that the chemicals in the ground

24:49

causing your son's illness and we can transfer.

24:52

Fine. Thank. You for your to. Gibbs

24:56

hangs up the phone. frustrated but

24:58

resolved. If. He needs to doctors

25:00

letters to get Michael transferred to a school

25:03

does not built on top of toxic chemicals

25:05

than that's what she's gonna get. Most.

25:11

Games procures minors from Michael's pediatrician

25:13

and her own general Practitioner, recommending

25:15

that Michael be transferred out of

25:17

the Ninety Ninth Street School. Gibbs

25:20

then submit them to the superintendents and

25:22

wait for spot. As she

25:24

never received one. And every time

25:26

she calls to follow up, the superintendent

25:28

is unavailable. Gibbs. Cause

25:31

multiple times a week for several weeks

25:33

until finally the Superintendent takes her call

25:35

the tells her he still deny Michael's

25:37

transfer. He says the donatists letters clean

25:40

the school is contaminated, but he doesn't

25:42

believe that to be true. Besides,

25:44

if that were the case, then it

25:46

wouldn't just be Michael needing to be

25:48

transferred. Entire school would have to be

25:51

closed and the superintendent insists that's not

25:53

going to happen. Gibbs.

25:55

Is furious. She. Hangs up the phone

25:57

and nose and her cheek as he considers what to

25:59

do next. She. And Harry can't

26:01

afford said michael to a private school. but

26:03

there's no way she's gonna send her son

26:05

to a school built on poison ground. And

26:08

that's when Gibbs realizes she can't be

26:10

the only parents who feels this way.

26:12

A It's fairly easy for the superintendent

26:15

to bully one sell squints. You'll have

26:17

a much harder time saying no to

26:19

a group of parents. So.

26:21

That june gibbs rights of a petition

26:23

demanding that the School board close the

26:25

Ninety Ninth Street School until the chemicals

26:28

are removed. And she has

26:30

out to start collecting signatures. Gibbs.

26:32

Starts at the home of Michael's best friend

26:34

curse. Voice. Father answers and

26:36

gives explains what she's up to. And

26:39

to her surprise, she learns that

26:41

Curtis was recently diagnosed with a

26:43

hyperactivity disorder. Curtis. His father

26:45

asked if that to can be caused by the

26:47

chemicals under the school. Give. Says

26:50

she's not sure, but based on what

26:52

she's read, the chemicals can say psychological

26:54

impact as well as physical months. So.

26:56

Curtis, his dad signed the petition and

26:59

then gives has to the next house.

27:01

Over the next few weeks, she knocks on over

27:03

one hundred doors. And. Has sought to

27:06

hear about the array of celsius is people are

27:08

suffering from. There. Is asthma,

27:10

juvenile arthritis, migraines, miscarriages,

27:13

harsh conditions, leukemia and

27:15

more. It. Seeming like

27:17

these chemicals are causing harm to the entire

27:19

neighborhood, which means the solution to the problem

27:22

goes beyond just shutting down the school. So

27:24

when the State Health Department holds a community

27:26

meeting at the Ninety Ninth Street School at

27:28

the end of June, Gibbs is eager to

27:31

attend. She. Wants someone to tell

27:33

her how to protect herself for family

27:35

and her community. But. At

27:37

the meeting, she finds that the doctor leading

27:39

the discussion is on satisfying answers. He says

27:42

that the government is continuing to do tests

27:44

on soil and air in the area and

27:46

soon they'll begin testing the blood of residents

27:48

who live adjacent to the to now. Once.

27:52

those tests are complete then they'll be able

27:54

to assess how much the community really is

27:56

at risk and what can be done it

28:01

A few days later, as promised, the

28:03

Health Department sets up testing sites to

28:05

collect blood samples from people who live

28:07

on 99th and 97th streets, the two

28:09

closest to the canal. And

28:11

a month later, in late July, Gibbs hears

28:14

that the Health Department is planning to reveal

28:16

the tests at a meeting in Albany, the

28:18

state capital. Albany is

28:21

300 miles from Niagara Falls, but

28:23

Gibbs is determined to attend. So

28:25

on August 1st, 1978, Gibbs,

28:28

her husband Harry, and their friend Debbie

28:30

Cirillo take the five-hour drive down to

28:32

the state capital to hear the results.

28:35

The next day, August 2nd, they enter a

28:37

cavernous meeting room in the New York Health

28:39

Department building. But aside from

28:42

a few journalists, including Mike Brown, the

28:44

room is nearly empty. It

28:46

seems only a small number of people from Niagara

28:48

Falls could afford to miss work and drive to

28:50

Albany in the middle of the week. Gibbs

28:53

has a sneaking suspicion that's precisely why

28:55

the health officials are holding this meeting

28:57

in the state capital on a Wednesday

28:59

rather than in Niagara Falls. She

29:02

thinks they don't want residents to hear what they have

29:04

to say. So Gibbs,

29:06

her husband, and Cirillo find seats at the front

29:08

of the room. And soon, several

29:10

men in suits make their way onto the stage. One

29:13

of them introduces himself as Robert Whalen,

29:15

the New York State Health Commissioner. Gibbs

29:18

pulls out a small tape recorder she brought

29:20

with her and hits record. She

29:22

knows people back in Niagara Falls are going to have

29:24

a lot of questions. This way, she

29:27

can share exactly what was said. Whalen

29:29

tells the room that the experts gathered on

29:31

stage have been studying the Love Canal situation

29:34

for the past several months. They

29:36

have run multiple tests and they've identified 80

29:38

chemical compounds at the fight. One

29:41

of those compounds, benzene, is

29:43

known to cause cancer. Gibbs

29:45

shakes her head in anger. In Mike

29:48

Brown's articles, he had theorized that benzene was

29:50

among the chemicals in Love Canal. But

29:52

this is proof. She

29:55

listens as Whalen continues, saying, in

29:57

light of these discoveries, the State

29:59

Department. In order: pregnant women

30:01

and children under to who live

30:03

adjacent to the Canal and Ninety

30:05

Seven to Ninety Nine Streets or

30:07

to temporarily evacuate their homes as

30:10

soon as possible residence on farther

30:12

away streets like Lois Gibbs should

30:14

remain vigilant and report any incidents

30:16

are hazards as they arise. He's

30:18

also ordering the Niagara Falls School

30:21

District to delay the start of

30:23

a nice street school year so

30:25

that corrective construction activities can be

30:27

used to. Gibbs tries to process

30:29

what Commissioner. Just set. The. Situation

30:31

is bad enough that some people need

30:34

to leave their homes and might be

30:36

bad enough that people like her or

30:38

her children are at risk, but the

30:40

health department doesn't know and instead of

30:42

taking any precautionary measures, government is just

30:45

leaving them to fend for themselves. Gibbs.

30:49

Squeezes her I saw trying to calm

30:51

the thoughts racing to her mind. She.

30:53

Thinks about her children Michael and Missy

30:56

the cancer causing poisons they must have

30:58

been exposed to at school. She.

31:00

Thinks about her neighbors and their

31:02

illnesses, miscarriages, the birth defects in

31:05

their children, And as

31:07

she sits there thinking Gibbs face starts

31:09

getting hot. She. Doesn't like to

31:11

fight the she's terrified of public speaking.

31:13

Was due to sit here and say

31:15

nothing. So. She jumps to her

31:17

feet. And. Demands more clarity, Is.

31:20

The area as poison and are said

31:22

vulnerable populations like a young and pregnant

31:24

has to leave. What is it doing

31:26

to regular people like her and her

31:28

family. The. Commissioner says the state

31:30

is going to continue to do testing. Gibbs.

31:33

Just needs to be patient and wait for the

31:35

science to come in. But. Gibbs

31:37

says she and her neighbours can afford to

31:39

be peace, not when they're being exposed every

31:42

day to cancer causing chemicals. Inspired.

31:44

By Gibbs. Debbie Cirillo also jumps to

31:46

her feet. Her. Backyard about

31:48

the canal. She tells Commissioner. She's.

31:51

An evacuation zone. But

31:53

her child is just over the threshold at three

31:55

years old. Does that mean he's really

31:58

safe? If. He wasn't safe, just. months

32:00

ago, before his third birthday, why do

32:02

they think he's safe now? The

32:05

Commissioner again urges patients. But

32:08

Gibbs is furious. None

32:10

of this makes sense. He's telling pregnant women

32:12

and small children to leave, but he's not

32:14

providing any resources. He's not saying

32:16

where they should go or how they're supposed to pay

32:18

for it. And he's leaving the rest of

32:20

them in harm's way. Gibbs begins

32:22

to scream at the top of her

32:25

lungs. You are murdering us. You are

32:27

murdering us. He sees a

32:29

shocked look pass over her husband Harry's face.

32:31

She can't blame him. She's

32:34

shocked by her behavior too. Lois

32:36

Gibbs, the same woman who once got

32:38

nervous ordering a hamburger, is now the

32:40

loudest person in the room. And

32:43

she's not going to stop being loud until

32:45

the people in charge start listening. Wow!

32:51

Nice! Yeah! What

32:54

you're hearing are the sounds of people

32:56

everywhere putting on Bombas socks, underwear, and

32:59

t-shirts made from absurdly soft materials that

33:01

feel like plush clouds. Yeah,

33:03

that plush. And the best

33:05

part? For every item you purchase, Bombas

33:07

donates another to someone facing homelessness. Bombas.

33:10

Big comfort for everyone. Go to

33:12

bombas.com/wondery and use code WONDERY for

33:15

20% off your first

33:17

purchase. That's bombas.com/WONDERY. Code WONDERY.

33:34

On August 2, 1978,

33:37

after the meeting with the health department

33:39

ends, Lois Gibbs, her husband Harry and

33:41

her friend Debbie Cirillo pile into the

33:43

Gibbs big old's Mobile sedan and drive

33:45

the 300 miles from Albany back home

33:47

to Niagara Falls. Harry

33:49

drops Cirillo off at her house before heading

33:51

toward his and Lois's home. Lois

33:54

is relieved to be back. It's been a long

33:56

and emotional day. And now all she wants to

33:58

do is kiss her kids and The collapse into

34:00

bed. But. As they pull up

34:03

there St. Se Los, his mother pacing

34:05

and their driveway. Then.

34:07

When most his mother sees their car. She.

34:09

Fossils toward them waving her arms and

34:11

they're yelling something. Harry rolls

34:14

down the driver's side window to hear better

34:16

to Lois, his mother screams and lowest needs

34:18

to get over to Ninety Nine Street right

34:20

away. Currently the neighbors have

34:22

been listening to the Albany Meeting on the

34:25

radio and when they heard the Health Commissioner

34:27

say that pregnant women and children under to

34:29

should evacuate they went crazy. Lowest

34:32

looks at Harry she doesn't

34:34

suit and stream she wants

34:36

to her mother insists and

34:39

low assessed ago. She.

34:41

Makes it sound like a whole neighborhood to go

34:43

up in flames. slows. doesn't get over there right

34:45

away. Lois. Reluctantly agrees

34:47

to see and Sherry make their

34:49

way to Nine. Nice treat when

34:51

they arrive Lowest Gibbs understands why

34:53

her mother or so adamant. Seems

34:56

like the entire neighborhood is gathering. The

34:58

street There are hundreds of people, many

35:00

screaming and crying, And in the middle

35:03

of the crowd, there's a fire burning.

35:06

One. Of Gibbs's neighbors standing on top of

35:08

a box speaking into a microphone. He

35:10

direct people to the bucket and tells

35:12

residents to burn their mortgage paperwork and

35:14

their tax bills. Their. Homes are

35:16

worthless. So. They shouldn't pay one

35:19

more red cent. Then he

35:21

looks into the crowd and asks if

35:23

Lois gives has returned more money gets

35:25

his mouth goes dry. She realizes that

35:27

always people don't want her to speak.

35:29

It was one thing to yell spontaneously

35:32

and politicians in Albany. But. She

35:34

knows her neighbors are going to want a real speech

35:36

from her now. Just and

35:38

gives his brother in law, Wayne sadly

35:40

approaches her. He tells her

35:42

that the residents are scared and upset.

35:44

They don't understand what exactly the health

35:46

department sound to what kind of danger

35:48

there is. All they know is some

35:51

bonnibel people have to leave. There's no

35:53

representative from the health department and town

35:55

to answer the questions, so Hadley urges

35:57

Gibbs to speak. She insists

35:59

she doesn't. answers. Says

36:01

she's no good at public speaking. But

36:03

before she can protest further, someone in

36:05

the crowd spots her, grabs her arm,

36:07

and pulls her toward the microphone. Gibbs

36:10

looks desperately back at her family, and

36:12

Hadley gives her an encouraging nod. Gibbs

36:15

climbs up onto the box and grabs the

36:17

microphone. Okay, she says.

36:20

Then she sees Hadley lift his index finger.

36:23

Gibbs has a verbal tick when she's nervous.

36:25

She starts and ends all of her sentences

36:27

with okay, and Hadley's been trying to break

36:29

her of it. She nods,

36:31

and then pushes forward as best as she can,

36:34

telling the crowd what the commissioner said

36:37

about how pregnant women and children under

36:39

two need to temporarily evacuate, and that

36:41

the school is going to be temporarily

36:43

closed. Someone yells, asking

36:45

why the rest of them aren't being

36:47

evacuated. And Gibbs repeats what the

36:49

commissioner said, that they don't have

36:52

the scientific evidence to evacuate everyone. The

36:54

crowd grumbles. But Gibbs goes

36:56

on, noticing that Hadley's index

36:59

finger is flying up every two seconds.

37:01

Her use of okay is off the charts.

37:04

Gibbs feels herself start to freeze up. She

37:07

thinks she's failing. She's annoying everyone with

37:09

her okay tick. She's not telling

37:11

the crowd anything they didn't hear on the radio. She's

37:14

losing control of the situation. Gibbs

37:17

swallows, and then realizes she

37:19

needs to give them something to do, somewhere

37:22

to channel their anger. And

37:24

she has an idea about where it should go. Gibbs

37:27

tells the crowd that the health officials will

37:29

be holding another meeting the next night at

37:31

the 99th Street School. And if

37:33

they want answers, they're going to need to pack

37:36

a place, making sure it's standing room only. Only

37:39

then can they pressure the government into

37:41

giving them the answers and resources that

37:43

Love Canal needs. The

37:45

crowd roars, relieved to have an action they

37:47

can take. And in

37:49

the back, Hadley grins, raises his hand

37:51

again. But this time, instead of

37:54

an index finger, he flashes a thumbs up.

38:00

The Love Canal neighbors take Lois Gibbs'

38:02

suggestion to heart, and the following night,

38:04

they crowd the auditorium of the 99th

38:06

Street School, and their energy is furious.

38:09

Commissioner Robert Whalen takes the stage, but

38:11

before he can even finish his introduction,

38:14

people are yelling questions from the crowd. They

38:17

want to know why Whalen's evacuation order only

38:19

applied to such a small group of people,

38:21

and how he decided where to draw the

38:23

line. A demand he explain how

38:26

he knows that a small child on one

38:28

block is vulnerable, but a child just one

38:30

block over is not. Whalen's

38:32

answers provide no new information, and

38:35

everyone leaves the meeting still angry and

38:37

dissatisfied. Their property values have been

38:40

destroyed, and their health is in jeopardy, and

38:42

it feels like everyone with the power to

38:44

do something about it is dragging their feet.

38:46

So the next evening, the neighbors gather at

38:49

the firehouse. They form the

38:51

Love Canal Homeowners Association and elect

38:53

Lois Gibbs as president. Through

38:56

this newly formed organization, residents hope

38:58

to have a voice the politicians

39:00

can't ignore, and it

39:02

seems to work instantaneously. At

39:05

the firehouse, Gibbs has just been making

39:07

her first speech as president when Niagara

39:09

Falls Congressman John LaFalle strikes him. He

39:12

takes the microphone right out of Gibbs' hand

39:14

and tells the crowd that he has an

39:16

exciting announcement. The Falls says

39:18

that for the past 14 months, he's

39:20

been searching for funding to help clean up

39:22

Love Canal and restore the neighborhood they all

39:24

know and love. He's here tonight to

39:27

tell them that he secured $4 million

39:29

to put toward that effort. The

39:31

crowd cheers. Finally, a

39:33

politician is doing something. The

39:35

Falls cautions that it will take

39:37

time, it will be disruptive, and

39:39

some people will still need to

39:42

temporarily relocate, but ultimately, their neighborhood

39:44

will be saved. Gibbs

39:46

feels a wave of relief watch over her.

39:49

She can go back to being a wife and

39:51

mom, and she's sure her husband Harry

39:53

will be happy about that. Gibbs

39:55

has admitted to slacking on housework recently. But

39:57

it's been worth it. She's helped

39:59

make the bears a safer home for Michael and

40:01

Missy. When the meeting comes to

40:04

an end, it's after midnight. As

40:06

Gibbs heads home, she meets up with

40:08

Beverly Pagan, a biologist and medical research

40:10

scientist who's been following the plight of

40:12

the Love Canal community. They're

40:17

both excited by the news of the funding

40:19

LaFulse has secured. And as

40:21

the two women walk through the streets

40:23

of the neighborhood, passing the carefully maintained

40:25

lawns and small two-story houses, Gibbs is

40:27

talking a mile a minute. Oh,

40:30

I just don't want to let anyone down. I mean, I'm not

40:32

any kind of activist. I don't know what

40:34

I'm doing and everyone's going to find that out, but

40:36

I just hope I don't mess up. No,

40:39

you won't. Obviously it's great that

40:41

Congressman LaFulse got 4 million, but that sounds like

40:43

it's only for cleanup. Do you think that means

40:45

it can't be used to help move people? I

40:48

don't know. Because people around here, they just

40:50

can't get up and move to a hotel for a

40:52

few months. They don't have that kind of money. This

40:54

is your street, right? There's two here. Ah, there's so

40:56

much to do. I'm going to have

40:58

to miss a whole list of questions I need to ask

41:00

for LaFulse's office. We all got so excited that we lost

41:02

our heads, but tomorrow people are going to want more information,

41:04

more details. Can you help me come up with

41:06

what I should ask? Pagan doesn't

41:09

respond. Gibbs stops and realizes

41:11

that Pagan is no longer walking alongside her.

41:14

She turns back to see Pagan standing in the

41:16

middle of the street, sniffing the air. What

41:19

are you doing? Come here. Gibbs

41:21

walks back to where Pagan is standing. Pagan

41:23

takes a deep sniff. You

41:25

smell that? Well,

41:28

sure, it smells like chemicals. The air around here

41:30

always smells like chemicals. That's the whole problem. Oh,

41:32

no, no, no, no, that's not it. Follow me.

41:35

Pagan trots forward and Gibbs trails after her.

41:38

Then Pagan stops after about 100 yards and

41:41

takes another deep sniff. Okay,

41:43

smell again. It's not as strong.

41:45

Yeah. Whenever we pass a manhole,

41:48

the smell is stronger. What does that mean? I

41:50

think it means the chemicals are moving. They're

41:53

traveling underground, beyond the streets adjacent to

41:55

the canal. My house is just

41:57

over there. You're saying the ground here is contaminated too?

42:00

Well, we'll have to conduct studies to be sure, but cleaning

42:03

this up might be a much bigger job

42:05

than any politician thinks, and way

42:07

more people have been exposed. Gibbs

42:11

nods slowly as she takes us in. Just

42:14

twenty minutes ago, she thought the end of her

42:16

activist days were in sight. But

42:18

if Tagan is right, and the chemicals

42:20

are spreading underground, then Gibbs'

42:22

days of fighting are only just beginning. For

42:25

a brief hack and Gibbs feels overwhelmed. She

42:28

thinks of her messy house, and her children who

42:30

barely see her anymore. But then she

42:32

sets her tone. She loves this neighborhood.

42:35

She loves her home. And she will

42:37

fight for as long as it takes to save her.

42:44

From Wondery, this is episode one of

42:46

Love to Now for American's Channel. In

42:49

our next episode, Lois Gibbs steps up

42:51

her protests, but not everyone is happy

42:53

with her approach. Meanwhile, more

42:56

alarming discoveries are made about the chemicals

42:58

buried in Love to Now.

43:07

Hey, Prime members, you can listen

43:09

to American Scandal ad-free on Amazon

43:11

Music. Download the Amazon Music app

43:13

today. Or you can listen

43:15

ad-free with Wondery Plus and Apple Podcasts.

43:18

Before you go, tell us about yourself

43:20

by completing a short survey at Flash

43:22

Survey. If

43:26

you'd like to learn more about Love

43:28

Canal, we recommend the books Laying Waste

43:30

by Mike Brown, Love Canal The Story

43:33

Continues by Lois Gibbs, and Paradise Falls

43:35

by Keith O'Brien. This

43:37

episode contains reenactments and dramatized details.

43:40

And while in most cases we can't know

43:42

exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are

43:45

based on historical research. American

43:47

Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced

43:49

by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship. Also

43:52

edited by Christian Peraga. Sound designed

43:54

by Gabriel Gould. Music by

43:56

Lindsey Graham. This episode is written by Austin

43:59

Ratless. Are you tired of

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dating assholes? Do

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you want to print this charming? If so, we're filming

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a reality show. Sign up here. 12

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American women are flown over to the

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UK for a Bachelor-style reality dating show.

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There are so many questions about a

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show like this, because it's so odd. These

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women have been told that they were

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going to be dating the world's most

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eligible Bachelor, Prince Harry. What? Y'all

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are playing with me, right? You can binge The

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Bachelor of Buckingham Palace exclusively from

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Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in

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Apple podcasts or the Wondery app.