“The way a problem is defined invariably implies a statement about its origins – the question of culpability is the most important aspect of all aspects of problem definition” (Rochefort and Cobb, 1994). One of the best illustrations of problem definition comes from the unfortunate story of the Love Canal. Residents of the Niagara Falls area faced horrible living conditions as their properties, homes and town were overrun by toxic waste. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The government's response time has been incredible, given the circumstances, in providing solutions to the people of Niagara. The government's untimely response to the current predicament can be explained by the implementation of multiple elements of problem definition. Interpreting the incident of this disaster will require examining the origin, uniqueness, problem population, and solutions presented in The Legacy of the Hooker Chemical Company. The first indication that there were real concerns was the state of the environment around the Love Canal. In order to adequately deal with a problem, you must find its origin. Brown relays the response of an independent city consultant when questioning the planned corrective measures: "We're not really sure what the final solution will be." You can't be sure until you know what you're dealing with. with” (Brown. 1980). No decision has been made about who would be held responsible for the damage and who would pay to repair it. Between the school board, the city and the Hooker Chemical Company, no agreement could be reached. Due to the lack of accountability, no one has been able to move forward in developing a plan or solution. The reason the Love Canal situation was so unique was that the state and federal government had no prior experience in these types of transactions. The dilemma was whether Hooker's actions were accidental or intentional. Hooker Company claimed that any corruption, "before the environment became a problem and the potential dangers of soil pollution were virtually unknown" (Brown. 1980. p.60). In Hooker's defense, political regulations involving pollution have not previously gone into effect. The government was in a difficult situation because if no regulations were in place, technically speaking, Hooker would not be wrong. Due to the absence of situations similar to the one the government had encountered, the search for a feasible solution would continue to be suspended. . To think that if the government had difficulty solving the problem, imagine what the residents were going through. For residents, they expected someone to take responsibility and repair what was damaged. In addition to the defined problems, there is the problem population. The problem population comes into play because of the groups of suffering people that are affected in the story. The problem population was present in the event because people outside of the affected region were not informed of what was happening, therefore, there was an absence of legislative will to provide assistance. The majority of people in the area worked for the chemical factories and did not make much money. People were helpless due to their financial situation and small size compared to big cities. Organizations were created such as the Love Canal Home Owners..