"We're stuck here. We want to get out," said 34-year-old Dan Reynolds, adding that he's been plagued by mysterious rashes and other ailments since he moved into the four-bedroom home purchased a decade ago. His wife, Teresa, said she's had two miscarriages and numerous unexplained cysts.

Love Canal's notorious history began when Hooker Chemical Co. used the abandoned canal from 1942 to 1953 to dump 21,800 tons of industrial hazardous waste. That canal was later capped, and homes and a school were built on top of it. But snow melt from an unusually harsh winter in 1977 seeped into the buried 16-acre canal and forced chemical waste into groundwater and to the surface, oozing into yards and basements.

Residents in recent years have complained of foul chemical odours and illnesses among people and pets. A multimillion-dollar state lawsuit has been filed claiming that the chemical landfill is leaking.