Love Canal: A 30-Year Retrospective On Soil Sampling and Investigation.

Love Canal, one of this nation’s best known environmental disasters, awoke the nation to large-scale soil and groundwater contamination, and as a result procedures were initiated for testing and policies to evaluate chemically contaminated sites. Don Owens, Registered Professional Soil Scientist and founder of Earth Dimensions, Inc., was at the forefront of the soil sampling effort which brought to light the seriousness of the contamination at Love Canal. As a soil scientist, he assisted the project team in demonstrating the significance of soil science in determining contamination migration pathways at the site. The lessons learned at Love Canal resulted in a complete overhaul of sampling protocol at contaminated sites, as well as changed the way society addresses manufacturing and its waste products. A 30-year retrospective on Love Canal, environmental regulation, and soil science field investigation techniques will be presented.