Famous Places

The Love Canal

Pre-Reading Warm Up Questions ☀

The Love Canal 1. Have you ever heard of the Love Canal? If so, what do
you know about it?
2. How do you think this canal got its name?
Love Canal was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, that
was the site of an environmental disaster in the late 1970s. 3. What is an environmental disaster? Can you think of
any examples?
The neighborhood was close to an abandoned canal, built by 4. Is there a department in your government that is
William Love in the 1880s. About 1920, the canal became a responsible for protecting the environment?
chemical dump site, and by 1953, it was full of chemicals. The 5. Do you know anyone that has gotten sick from
chemical company sealed it, covered it with dirt, and sold the site to chemical poisoning?
the local school board.

In 1954, a school was built near the edge of the canal, and a
neighborhood grew up around it. People noticed strange smells in
their homes and puddles in their yards, but no government would
look into it. Residents were also sick a great deal.

In April 1978, the homeowners’ association convinced the EPA

(Environmental Protection Agency) to test the homes nearest the
canal. The tests showed high levels of poisonous chemicals, and
pregnant women and very young children were told to leave the
area. The school was torn down.

After a big rainstorm in August 1978, chemicals came to the surface

and toxic streams formed. Love Canal was declared a federal
disaster area and the 239 families living nearest the canal were
evacuated. Geologists proved that chemicals were leaking from the
canal, and in October 1980, the government gave the remaining 660
families money to move to a safer place. Only 67 families chose to
stay. COMPREHENSION ✍
A. True or False. Read the statements below. If the
Over the years, the poisonous chemicals made many Love Canal statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is
residents seriously ill. They suffered chemical burns, miscarriages, false, write F. If it is false, correct the information.
leukemia, and cancer. A high number of babies had birth defects.
1. The Love Canal was named after the man who built it.
The houses closest to the canal were destroyed, the canal was 2. An environmental disaster occurred in the Love Canal
resealed, and the toxins were removed from the soil and water.
neighborhood in 1880.
About 200 homes were renovated in 1988 and new families moved
in, even though the canal is still filled with toxic waste. 3. When people started to get sick in Love Canal, the
government took immediate action to help them.
The chemical company was forced to pay to clean up the
4. Everyone in Love Canal left the neighborhood.
neighborhood. It also paid former residents a small amount of
money for the loss of their homes. 5. The Love Canal area is now completely safe.

1
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 Famous Places
The Love Canal

B. Practice asking and answering the following questions with your partner. Then write the answers in complete sentences.

1. What happened in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls, New York in the late 1970s?
2. What happened to the Love Canal in 1920?
3. What did the chemical company do to the Love Canal in the 1950s?
4. What did people in Love Canal start to notice in their neighborhood?
5. What did the EPA discover in 1978 and what action did the agency take?
6. What happened after a big rainstorm in August, 1978?
7. What effects did the poisonous chemicals have on the residents of Love Canal?

VOCABULARY REVIEW ✍
A. Match the word on the left with the correct meaning on the right. DISCUSS

_____ 1. site a) dangerous to health 1. Why do you think some people

_____ 2. disaster b) little pool of water refused to leave Love Canal when they
_____ 3. canal c) make someone believe or do something were told that it was not safe to live
_____ 4. dump d) made to leave a place of danger there anymore?
_____ 5. seal e) place
_____ 6. puddle f) loss of a baby before it is born 2. What do you think should happen to
_____ 7. resident g) place where garbage is left companies that cause environmental
_____ 8. convince h) expecting a baby disasters?
_____ 9. poisonous i) earth
_____ 10. pregnant j) passing out or through 3. Has there ever been an environmental
_____ 11. evacuated k) channel cut through land to carry water, boats disaster in your city or country?
_____ 12. leaking l) brought back to good condition
4. What are some of the biggest
_____ 13. miscarriage m) close tightly
environmental disasters that have
_____ 14. soil n) terrible happening
occurred in the last 25 years?
_____ 15. renovated o) person who lives in a certain place

B. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined words in the following sentences.

1. The neighborhood was close to an abandoned canal.

a) very big b) ancient c) not used anymore
2. The chemical company sold the site to the local school board.
a) building b) group of people that manage the schools c) neighborhood
3. When people noticed strange smells, no government would look into it.
a) clean it up b)investigate, check c) pay them
4. A large number of babies in Love Canal had birth defects.
a) died b) had cancer c) were born with physical problems
5. The Love Canal is still filled with toxic waste.
a) many people b) new houses c) poisonous garbage

2
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 Famous Places
The Love Canal

ANSWER KEY

Please note: The reading for this topic is also available in full-page format at the end of the lesson (page 4).

PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1-5. Individual answer &
3. An environmental disaster is a disaster due to human activity that causes great harm to the natural environment
including plant, animal and possibly human life.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
A. True or False
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. F

B. Written Answers
1. In the late 1970’s, the Love Canal neighborhood was the site of an environmental disaster.
2. In 1920, the canal became a chemical dump site.
3. During the 1950’s the chemical company sealed the canal, covered it with dirt and sold the site to the local school
board.
4. Residents in Love Canal started to notice strange smells in their homes and puddles in their yards.
5. In 1978, the EPA discovered high levels of toxic chemicals and advised pregnant women and young children to leave
the area.
6. After a big rainstorm in 1978, chemicals came to the surface and formed toxic streams.
7. The poisonous chemicals made many residents seriously ill and many of them suffered serious chemical burns,
miscarriages, leukemia, and cancer.

VOCABULARY REVIEW
A. Choose the word
1. e 2. n 3. k 4. g 5. m 6. b 7. o
8. c 9. a 10. h 11. d 12. j 13. f 14. i 15. l

B. Match the words

1. c 2. b 3. b 4. c 5. c

3
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 Famous Places
The Love Canal

The Love Canal

Love Canal was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, that was the site of an environmental
disaster in the late 1970s.

The neighborhood was close to an abandoned canal, built by William Love in the 1880s. About 1920,
the canal became a chemical dump site, and by 1953, it was full of chemicals. The chemical company
sealed it, covered it with dirt, and sold the site to the local school board.

In 1954, a school was built near the edge of the canal, and a neighborhood grew up around it. People
noticed strange smells in their homes and puddles in their yards, but no government would look into it.
Residents were also sick a great deal.

In April 1978, the homeowners’ association convinced the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to
test the homes nearest the canal. The tests showed high levels of poisonous chemicals, and pregnant
women and very young children were told to leave the area. The school was torn down.

After a big rainstorm in August 1978, chemicals came to the surface and toxic streams formed. Love
Canal was declared a federal disaster area and the 239 families living nearest the canal were evacuated.
Geologists proved that chemicals were leaking from the canal, and in October 1980, the government
gave the remaining 660 families money to move to a safer place. Only 67 families chose to stay.

Over the years, the poisonous chemicals made many Love Canal residents seriously ill. They suffered
chemical burns, miscarriages, leukemia, and cancer. A high number of babies had birth defects.

The houses closest to the canal were destroyed, the canal was resealed, and the toxins were removed
from the soil and water. About 200 homes were renovated in 1988 and new families moved in, even
though the canal is still filled with toxic waste.

The chemical company was forced to pay to clean up the neighborhood. It also paid former residents a
small amount of money for the loss of their homes.

4
Copyright 2009. This eBook is produced and distributed by Red River Press Inc. All rights reserved. The contents within this e-book/document may only be
photocopied by members of ESL-Llibrary.com in accordance with membership terms and conditions. Contact info@esl-library.com for complete details.