Random Toxic And Polluted US Towns (9 items)

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  (#1) Niagara Falls

  • New York, USA

  In the 1890s, entrepreneur William T. Love purchased land in Niagara Falls, NY. He wanted to build a large, modern city powered by hydroelectric technology. Love managed to finish one pit of the envisioned canal before his project collapsed. In 1920, the city purchased the pit to use as a chemical waste dumping ground.

  Twenty years later, a chemical manufacturing company bought the land for their disposal, dropping around 22,000 tons of dangerous materials. The company lined the almost-full pit with clay, covered it with dirt, and declared it safe for construction.

  Developers built houses and an elementary school on the original Love land, but residents soon fell ill; babies died or suffered severe birth defects. Although the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found more than 400 dangerous substances in the area, the school didn't close until 1978; the residents evacuated then, too. Several areas remain unsafe.
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  (#2) Kotzebue, AK

  Around 3,500 residents reside in Kotzebue, AK, roughly 30 miles beyond the Arctic Circle. Iñupiat Eskimos make up 70% of the population. According to 2016 research data, the town is the most toxic place in America. Kotzebue produced at least 756 million pounds of toxic chemicals. The Red Dog Mine, which lies 82 miles north of the town, is likely responsible for the waste. 

  One of the largest lead-zinc mines on Earth, Red Dog releases toxic substances into the surrounding water and soil. Lichens can also absorb the contaminants; when caribou consume the infected vegetation, it endangers humans who eat their meat. 

  The mine received licensing to remain open until 2031, and it took several measures to rectify the problem. Conflict continues to brew between people who consider the area safe and those who feel the mine ruins the environment and community.
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  (#3) Centralia

  • Pennsylvania, USA

  Centralia, PA, thrived as a mining community in the late 1800s, but many mines closed in the 1960s. In 1962, a fire started in an abandoned strip-mine pit. Residents were vaguely aware of the issue, but the extent of the danger didn't become apparent until 1979, when fuel in a gas station's underground tanks heated to 172 degrees.

  Then, in 1981, a local boy fell eight feet into a sinkhole in his backyard. More than 150 feet deep, the sinkhole contained deadly amounts of carbon monoxide. The government stepped in, relocating residents.

  Lethal gasses and sinkholes still fill the area, but signs warn passersby to avoid the stretch of land. Centralia lost its zip code in 2002, but 11 years later, a handful of residents obtained a court order to continue living in the otherwise abandoned town.
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  (#4) Picher, OK

  The town of Picher, OK, incorporated in 1918, as zinc and lead deposits drew miners to the area. By the 1970s, the mines shut down due to the waning industry, and the abandoned underground tunnels filled with water. Minerals from the tunnels contaminated millions of tons of water, which seeped into the surrounding area.

  By 1993, a study revealed more than one-third of Picher's children possessed enough lead in their bloodstreams to cause brain damage. Though some residents remained in spite of federal land buyouts, the school system shut down in 2009, and the municipality officially dissolved in 2013. 
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  (#5) Hinkley, CA

  If you've seen the movie Erin Brockovich, you remember how residents of Hinkley, CA, sued Pacific Gas and Electric for contaminating their water. The company used chromium 6 to keep their pipelines free of rust and algae, then dumped the carcinogenic chemical into local water supplies. Hundreds of residents fell ill as a result.

  Although the film features a somewhat happy ending, reality didn't wrap up as neatly. Property values in the city dropped; residents relocated. Meanwhile, research proved PG&E didn't handle cleanup properly - Hinkley residents who remained were still at risk of water contamination. The town's school closed in 2013, and the post office followed in 2015.
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  (#6) Camden

  • New Jersey, USA

  Two Superfund sites and over 100 contaminated areas dot the city of Camden, NJ. The Environmental Protection Agency found more than 350 facilities using various pollutants in the industrial city.

  1542 South Broadway, for example, previously housed an animal tannery and leather glazers, followed by a reconditioning center for industrial drums. By 1998, though, most companies ceased to operate out of the buildings, and the EPA investigated of the site in 1999. They found contaminated wastewater in the sewer and buried containers of hazardous materials in the ground. Soil testing showed dangerous levels of lead, chromium, mercury, arsenic, and more.
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  (#7) Whittier

  • California, USA

  The Omega Chemical Corporation operated in Whittier, CA from the mid-1970s to the early '90s. The company recycled refrigerant and other solvents through treatment or reformulation. Unfortunately, the company allowed volatile organic compounds like Freon to contaminate the groundwater and soil.

  Wells in several nearby cities shut down, while the EPA removed contaminated soil, empty chemical drums, and around 3,000 drums of hazardous waste from the site in 1995. Other companies sent Omega at least 10 tons of toxic waste. More than 12,500 pounds of pollutants have been removed as of March 2018.
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  (#8) Torrance

  • California, USA

  Montrose Chemical Corporation once maintained a manufacturing plant in Torrance, CA. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the company dumped millions of pounds of DDT into the Pacific Ocean. The synthetic pesticide originally killed disease-spreading bugs, but analysts learned DDT negatively impacted the environment by the '60s.

  DDT weakened the eggshells of bald eagles and peregrine falcons, killing the birds' young and nearly causing their extinction. The United States banned DDT in 1972, but officials found more than 100 tons of it in Torrance, because of Montrose Chemical Corporation, in 2017. The EPA declared the area a Superfund site in 1990, banning some commercial fishing over the risk of contaminated fish ending up on dinner plates.
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  (#9) South Bend

  • Indiana, USA

  The Beck's Lake area in South Bend, IN, doubled as a dump for hazardous materials and a landfill for automotive waste. Several different companies used the site for at least 40 years. Though the practice eventually stopped, the site remains adjacent to a public park.

  Locals knew about the area's toxic past, so when residents developed various health issues, they raised concerns about contamination. The EPA conducted a series of tests, eventually discovering asbestos, arsenic, and other dangerous compounds in the area.

  In 2013, Beck's Lake became a Superfund site, adding to Indiana's growing list of toxic areas. 

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