Lois Marie Gibbs, Mother of the EPA Superfund
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Title
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Lois Marie Gibbs, Mother of the EPA Superfund
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Description
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Photograph of Lois Marie Gibbs decorating a Christmas tree trimmed with ornaments naming chemicals found in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls, New York. A middle class housewife with no college education or political organizing background, Gibbs began her celebrated career in environmental activism in 1978 after discovering that her son’s elementary school was built on top of more than 20,000 tons of toxic chemical waste dumped by the Hooker Chemical Company. In her neighborhood of Love Canal, most children born in the 1970s had birth defects. Gibbs’ own children had been ill from birth and her son began having seizures once he started school. Gibbs went door to door petitioning for the closure of the school. As she spoke with neighbors and learned of their health problems, she formed a homeowner’s association and worked to have 810 Love Canal families evacuated, prompting the creation of the EPA’s Superfund program responsible for responding to environmental emergencies and cleanups. In 1981, Gibbs founded Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste – later renamed to the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice – to help train and support grassroots organizations working to protect neighborhoods from exposure to hazardous wastes. Gibbs was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 and holds honorary degrees from several universities.
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Type
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Still image
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Format
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.jpeg
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Identifier
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781221099
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Subject
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environmental toxins; chemical waste; industrial pollution; dioxin; environmental activism; Niagara Falls; Love Canal Homeowners Association; Center for Health, Environment and Justice; Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste; EPA Superfund
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Rights Holder
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AP Images
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Rights
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Used under fair use guidelines
