ASCI 1110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Acetaldehyde, Pesticide, Love Canal

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Arts and Sciences
• Course: ASCI 1110
• Professor: Sofie Lachapelle

Document Summary

Chisso corporation (1907: 1932- production of acetaldehyde, methyl mercury- waste product dump directly into the bay, 1953- residents notice their cats/dogs that are fed the fish scraps are acting very strangely. Foaming at the mouth, erratic behaviour, convulsions, throwing themselves into the lake to die. Everyone is siding with chisso, and beginning to hate the fishermen. Many families sued chisso and won, and got hand-written apologies from the president. The dangers of unchecked use of chemicals such as ddt (dicholoro-diphenyl- trichloroethane) in the era of industry and specialists. Book called silent spring because of the time that the robins all died from eating worms that were contaminated by chemicals in the ground. How did the environment disaster come to light: historical amnesia then and now. 2 nov 2015: predicting the unpredictable new highway (digging up soil), high levels of rain, longer timeframe. Who were the various stakeholders: children attending the school, families living in the area, anyone working for.