Lauren Haws - Love Canal

I posted the love canal video and this article about hurricane Sandy sewage spills that the Superfund, same organization in love canal had to clean up because it was such a contamination hazard.

Sewage spill and clean up link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/30/hurricane-sandy-sewage-toxic-_n_2046963.html

I posted the question: Were you aware that environmental tragedies of this magnitude still exist today?


1. This is crazy! I believe like the people in the Love Canal video the government hides a lot of these environmental problems from Americans today. I had no idea things like this happen to such a large degree. 

2. No I had no idea things like this happened I assumed me and my family were safe, but now I question what is going on in my area that I do not know about.   

3.  Now you have me worried! I had no idea things like this happened, or at least I found out after everything was fixed and it was no longer of concern. That is scary the government hides information and down plays it to the people it affects most. 

4.  There are so many health related issues to a sewage spill. And the media acted like it was no big deal and things like this happen often. We need to stop them from happening in the first place. It is a sign pointing to our weak infrastructure. 

5. I had NO idea things like this happened today, I thought we were better protected and informed. This is no the information you see on nightly news, perhaps it should be.  

6. I wonder what it will take for the government to fix issues like this that apparently arise so often. We need more activist fighting for a cleaner society. In fact, we should all be activist for our own health and a safer, cleaner society.

7. Gross! 

8. I hope I am not affected by something like this. need to keep my eyes open.  

9. I believe things like this are completely preventable, at least with the love canal story. Yes we cannot stop hurricane damage but maybe if we had better sewage lines that are not weak and old, sewage spills could be prevented. I know sewage spills are a major concern for areas like San Diego California because of there poor sewage system and instead of being proactive and fixing the system to prevent disasters, the government waits until disaster strikes to take action once it has already affected millions.

10. I agree with Katie I need to be more aware of the issues surrounding me that effect me health in situation like these. 

My Response to Questions: 
  In your opinion are environmental hazards something we should be concerned about on a daily basis -- I am currently in health 322, environmental health and we learn about environmental hazards everyday. So yes we should be concerned about them daily because they happen daily throughout the whole world and million of people are adversely effected. The health of our society should be a top priority and we should always be thinking in a  preventative mind set. 

  Environmental tragedies still exist today; what can we do today to mitigate these problems. -- Disaster Prevention is key. As public health majors prevention is something we focus on. Its always about stopping the problem before it happens. In the long run that will be cheaper than cleanup and medical bills anyways. We need to adopt a philosophy of fix something before its broken, and don't wait till the last minute because it will often be too late. 

  Do you believe that environmental crises affect you/your family today? -- Through my environmental health class I am learning of many things that effect me and my family that I never knew about. As consumers many hings are hidden from us. We need to be our own activists and do our own research about the problems that surround us where we live. Mold, radon, sewage spills, radio active materials, GMOs, and natural gas exposures are many things that effect us everyday but only a few are aware.