[lois gibbs]
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In the spring of 1978, a 27-year-old housewife named Lois Gibbs discovered that her child was attending an elementary school built on top of a 20,000 ton, toxic-chemical dump in Niagara Falls, NY. Out of desperation, she organized her neighbors into the Love Canal Homeowners Association and struggled more than two years for relocation. Opposing the groups’s efforts was the chemical manufacturer, Occidental Petroleum, and local, state and federal government officials who insisted that the leaking toxic chemicals, including dioxin (the most toxic chemical known to man), was not the cause of high rates of birth defects, miscarriages, cancers and other health problems. Finally in October 1980, President Jimmy Carter delivered an Emergency Declaration which moved 900 families from this hazardous area and signified the victory of this grassroots movement.

Through the knowledge gained from the Love Canal struggle, Ms. Gibbs’ world had dramatically changed. During the crisis, she received numerous calls from people across the country who were experiencing similar problems. This revealed to her that the problem of toxic waste went far beyond her own backyard. She became determined to support these grassroots efforts. In 1981, she responded by creating the Center For Health, Environment and Justice, CHEJ (formerly Citizens Clearinghouse For Hazardous Wastes), an organization that has assisted over 8,000 grassroots groups with organizing technical and general information nationwide.

Ms. Gibbs serves as Executive Director of CHEJ and speaks with communities nationwide and internationally about dioxin and hazardous waste pollution. As author of the book, Love Canal The Story Continues . . . (release date April 1998), Ms. Gibbs brings the Love Canal story up-to-date and discusses the issues society faces today with chemical exposures. Ms. Gibbs along with a network of grassroots groups have initiated the Stop Dioxin Exposure Campaign and published Dying From Dioxin in 1995, to support local groups with the goal of eliminating the sources of dioxin exposure a chemical she feared most at Love Canal. She lives in Virginia with her husband and four children.

Ms. Gibbs has been recognized extensively for her critical role in the grassroots environmental justice movement. She has spoken at numerous conferences and been featured in hundreds of newspaper articles, magazines and textbooks. Ms. Gibbs has appeared on many television and radio shows including 60 Minutes, 20/20, Oprah Winfrey, Good Morning America, and the Today Show. A CBS two hour prime-time movie about Ms. Gibbs’ life was entitled “Lois Gibbs: The Love Canal Story” starring Marsha Mason. Among her many awards are the 1990 Goldman Environmental Prize, Outside Magazine’s “Top Ten Who Made A Difference,” Honor Role in 1991 and an honorary PhD from the State University of New York, Cortland College.

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