Chemical Pollution, Picher, Oklahoma
1981 • Picher, Oklahoma
Picher was once home to the world's richest lead and zinc mining field, but was declared a Superfund site in 1981, "After decades of mining, towering piles of mine waste covered 25,000 acres, devastating Quapaw tribal lands and local economies. Acid mine water burned nearby Tar Creek and stained it red...But when an alarmingly high percentage of local children were found to have toxic levels of lead in their blood, a committee was quickly formed to relocate the town. Property values plummeted and the EPA arrived to replace tainted soil in yards."
"The Creek Runs Red." PBS. Web. 22 Mar. 2012.
"Prodcution, Zinc." Fritz, Henle, Oklahoma, 1942, courtesy of The Library of Congress, LC-USE6-D-009614.
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