Cleaning up the Environment

Synopsis

The industrial might of the United States grew in the 1930s and flourished during the two world wars. As businesses large and small supplied the needs of the country, they discarded their wastes in landfills, pits, and waterways. It was an easy and inexpensive way to get rid of wastes before more were made. Waste dumping had not yet been linked with illnesses so few people worried about it, especially if the materials were hidden under the ground or in the ocean. Within 20 years of the end of WWII, those wastes began to cause serious health problems.