Hooker Chemical — Niagara Falls
Hooker operated in the Niagara Falls chemical-industry area. The Love Canal disposal property is not interchangeable with an operating manufacturing plant: each property, building and employment period must be identified separately.
Finding the right workplace
Start with the address or building, the employer or contractor, and the years. Large campuses and company names often span multiple distinct workplaces.
Dates that may bring back a memory
1942–1953
EPA and New York records describe disposal of chemical wastes at Love Canal by Hooker.
1953
Hooker transferred the Love Canal property to the local Board of Education.
1978
New York declared a health emergency related to Love Canal.
What do you remember?
- Was your workplace a chemical production plant, waste-handling area, utility building, maintenance shop, or an off-site project?
- What was the street address, plant name, production line, employer and decade?
- Do you remember contractors, shutdowns, tank areas, piping, or a particular building?
Entrances, coworkers, shift changes, uniforms, equipment, lunch areas, local landmarks, and renovations can help locate the right historical records. These are prompts, not assertions about your experience.
How the history may be investigated
After identifying the particular building and period, relevant records may include employment files, maps, construction plans, photographs, maintenance and contractor records, union records, testimony and product documentation. An asbestos-related conclusion must rest on its own verified source.
Start with what you remember → How H&S investigates worksites →
Independent historical sources
Sources establish only the particular historical facts described above. They do not establish individual asbestos exposure.