Caveat Emptor of the Love Canal The Love Canal, an area near Niagara Falls in New York, was excavated around the turn of the century by a company which was headed by William T. Love. After Love went broke, the canal was put up for action and was eventually bought by Hooker Chemicals. In the forties, Hooker Chemicals began dumping thousands upon thousands of toxic chemicals into the canal and the surrounding land. Hooker then sold the canal and the surrounding land to a school company for one dollar. The company proceeded to build a school on top of the waste site, and soon a neighborhood also arose. After heavy rainfall in the seventies, much of the waste came up from the ground.