Sprol

A river that sits above a hundred square miles of underground lead and zinc mines. Most are abandoned, and have filled with water because nobody is operating the sump pumps. The groundwater for dozens of miles is thereby so acid that if you dig a well and drink it, it will injure your esophagus.

So much lead dust blows from the giant tailings piles that cover the landscape that most of the county’s children have learning disabilities. Cave-ins have forced the abandonment of the Pitcher, Oklahoma town center. Map of these chat piles

"For several decades, hazardous materials have affected several towns in a 40 sq. mile area located in the extreme northeast corner of Oklahoma – Ottawa County – near the borders of Kansas and Missouri. Towns experiencing the most impact include Pitcher, Cardin, North Miami, Miami, and Quapaw. The Quapaw Tribe owns 70 percent of the land in this area." OGHS

"In the late 1960′s many homes were built on the land due to reduced property costs. Soon after, incidents of collapsing homes and fish kills in nearby waterways, including the Grand Lake of Cherokee, prompted a federal investigation."

Among all residents of the area who live off the land to varying degrees, the native tribes who are settled in the region are particularly vulnerable.

"The tribal populations may use biota (i.e., plants and animals) for food and for cultural, ceremonial, and religious practices. The tribes would use biota as food probably in amounts much greater than amounts used by other area residents. Native populations can use plant materials for medicine regularly, further increasing consumption rates for lead. Tribal members who practice crafts such as basket weaving may spend most of their day sifting the plant through their teeth, a practice that means they can easily inhale contaminated dust and small soil particulates bound to plant materials. The biota used and the cultural, ceremonial, and religious practices may differ among the 10 tribes in the Tar Creek site area." Superfund report to congress

"How can the government turn its back on so many people who live on what the EPA describes as the "worst toxic waste site in the nation," an area described in the federal Tar Creek Restoration Act as a site that "…can never be made safe for human habitation?" mindfully.org

It’s fascinating to see the transition between the smaller tributaries, underground rivers, and the larger surface waterways.

It looks green and blue in the false color of the satellite image, but large areas the watershed remain irrevocably contaminated with lead. Eating the catfish is a serious mistake.

Ongoing cleanup efforts produce a bewildering collection of pdf progress reports. However the prevailing wind blows the dust from the white mounded piles you see into the air, until the lead and zinc dust settles somewhere else, somewhere downwind, somewhere downstream.

Thanks to Nat Vaprin.