BUFFALO — University Libraries at the University at Buffalo will present the PBS documentary “Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal” at 2 p.m. on Nov. 19 in Capen 310 on the university’s North Campus.
Screening of the 2025 Emmy-nominated film is presented as part of the ongoing exhibition “Toxic Archives: Voices from Love Canal,” a poignantly curated collection of photographs, correspondence and firsthand accounts of the environmental crisis of the late 1970s that led to the creation of the Superfund Act.
The screening is free and open to the public but guests must register online to attend.
University Archives is the largest repository of Love Canal materials in the state. More than 100 historical images from its collection are featured in the film, which is among this year’s Emmy nominees in the category of Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary.
“Poisoned Ground” tells the dramatic and inspiring story of the women in the infamous Love Canal neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, who after discovering their homes, schools and playgrounds were built on a former chemical waste dump fought against overwhelming odds for the health and safety of their families.
“In a world that continues to experience industrial growth and the risks of toxicity it’s important to remember the early environmental efforts of community organization,” says Hope Dunbar, university archivist. “We can see what was effective and how communities were able to force change even when governments and regulatory agencies would not even acknowledge the existence of a problem.”
The film tells the story of the human cost of unregulated industry. The exhibit focuses on previously restricted interviews with Love Canal residents conducted in 1978 and 1979 by Adeline Levine, PhD, UB professor of sociology. Working with graduate students, Levine began a study to document the social and psychological impact of Love Canal. One of those students, Penelope Ploughman, conducted additional interviews for her dissertation.
University Archives received Ploughman’s collection in 2008. Levine’s interviews were donated in two parts, with half going to UB and the rest to The Buffalo History Museum, by her husband following her passing.
“Toxic Archives” unites those separate collections within University Archives, which in 2024 began an 18-month targeted redaction process.
“It’s important to note that restrictions on these 90 interviews were not specified or imposed by the interviewees or the original collection donors. Most of the resident interviews contained signed consent forms allowing the content to be accessed for research purposes. The restrictions were added by archivists and collection staff who were navigating sensitive information with caution and limited resources.”
That comprehensive initiative has created, for the first time, a complete and accessible historical narrative of the Love Canal crisis.
“The individual interviews captured the voices of residents living through the unfolding disaster. They were rich in personal history, accounts of illness, fear and activism, but they were also filled with identifying information that required careful handling,” says Dunbar. “‘The Love Canal Redaction Project’ set out to make this material accessible, responsibly balancing research, access, ethical stewardship, and the dignity of the people whose stories were preserved.”
Toxic Archives will be open through the spring semester and into the summer.
“Love Canal shows how individuals can create a grassroots movement that has an impact and empowers change,” says Dunbar. “I encourage everyone to come to the screening, visit the exhibition, and attend future events that will be part of our spring programming.”