Environmental health: an analysis of available and proposed remedies for victims of toxic waste contamination.

Past and present residents of the Love Canal area near Niagara Falls, New York, fear that they and their homes have been contaminated by toxic wastes seeping out from nearby chemical disposal sites. Hundreds of landfills nationwide are as potentially dangerous as Love Canal. In the absence of a statutory remedy, victims of contamination must rely upon common law theories of lability in order to recover damages for injuries suffered as a result of toxic waste contamination. This Note examines the merits and deficiencies of four common law theories: negligence, strict liability, nuisance and trespass. The Note concludes that none of these remedies is adequate to assure recovery to a person injured by toxic waste disposal, and recommends that legislation be adopted to ensure that victims of toxic waste contamination can be compensated for their injuries.