Word: toxication
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...were many of the Kotts' neighbors. Over 700 families in all, they live around Love Canal, the notorious, stinking chemical sewer that has become a symbol of the country's growing toxic waste problem. For the past two years, one report after another has told harrowing tales of noxious odors leaking into homes, of sinister-colored sludge seeping into basements, of children playing in potholes of pollutants and, worst of all, of abnormally high rates of miscarriages and birth defects, of nerve, respiratory, liver and kidney disorders and of assorted cancers among people of Love Canal...
...after Lewis Carroll's Alice tumbles down the rabbit hole, she finds a little bottle with a label tied round its neck. Printed on it is a short, direct message: DRINK ME. Prudently, Alice looks to make sure there is no additional marking saying POISON, mindful that imbibing toxic liquids "is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later." Discovering none, she obeys the command-and shrinks to a height of ten inches...
...York's situation is not unique. As Journalist Michael Brown points out in a new book, Laying Waste (Pantheon; $11.95), the entire U.S. is dotted with chemical dumps. Most may never explode, but many are slowly leaking their toxic contents into the soil and the water that flows through it, thus threatening the health of generations to come. Says Brown: "We have planted thousands of toxic time bombs; it is only a question of time before they explode...
Unfortunately, Love Canal is only the tip of a tremendous toxic iceberg. A 1978 Environmental Protection Agency study identified 32,254 toxic waste dumps around the U.S., some 800 of which posed "significant imminent hazards" to public health. Brown demonstrates that the chemicals in these sites have already begun to take their toll...
...Brown notes, removing these threats to health is bound to be costly. Finding safe ways to dispose of toxic chemicals can substantially affect the profits of many U.S. industries. Cleaning up the dumps that already exist will cost billions. Thus far, action to control toxic chemical pollution has been slow and sporadic. Accidents similar to that in New Jersey may speed up the process. Even as Elizabeth was cleaning up after its fire, a chemical plant in neighboring Bayonne released a toxic cloud of its own and forced officials there to evacuate, temporarily, an 8-sq. -mi. industrial area...