Love Canal

The blizzard of 1977 is largely cited as a sort of "fuse" for the chemicals under Love Canal. The snow and precipitation is said to have sunk underground, thereby pushing chemicals to the surface.
Some known effects of the chemicals on humans are cancer, liver problems, oxidative stress and other damage to the nervous system, and even birth defects.
The rest of the ecosystem was affected by the same chemicals: water and the the sediment beneath the Niagara River was contaminated, and chances are that any wildlife in the area would be just as exposed if the chemicals still occupied the Canal.