In the 1890s entrepreneur William Love attempted to build a canal from the Niagara River, initially to power local industries, and then to serve as the backdrop for a new township in New York. Both schemes collapsed, leaving a one-mile mini-canal. The pit was used as a dump from the 1920s and was later purchased by Hooker Chemical, which used it to store 22,000 tons of toxic waste.
By the mid-1970s the residents complained of horrible smells, pools of caustic water, a spate of birth defects and mystery child illnesses. Tests commissioned found huge levels of toxic chemicals in the water and land. In early 1978, New York State's health commissioner declared the area hazardous, recommending that 200 families be moved, and the outcry led President Jimmy Carter to declare a Federal Emergency.
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Around 900 families were ultimately relocated and a huge dispute arose over the liability. Regulators claimed that Hooker was negligent and did not fully disclose the amount of waste stored. Hooker (by then owned by Occidental Petroleum) claimed that the construction work caused the barrels to leak and that the 1953 sale agreement absolved it of any blame, but ended up paying $120m towards the costs.
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31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
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13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
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9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar SquareFeatures On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
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3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is createdFeatures On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
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10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
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9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
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8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formedFeatures On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
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7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
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