EPA, Interior, Army, to Work Together in Removing Health Risks at Tar Creek, Oklahoma

The 40 square mile Tar Creek Superfund Site in northeastern Oklahoma is part of the 1,188 square mile historic zinc and lead mines known as the Tri-State Mining District in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The district's historic lead and zinc production ranks as one of the highest in the world, with total ore production estimated to have been slightly more the 0.5 billion short tons, with production high during World War II. Mining began in the early 1900's and continued until the 1960's. The by-products of the mining operation were highly acidic mine water and large amounts of discarded mine and mill tailings, discarded in chat piles or settling ponds. The principle pollutants are lead, cadmium, and zinc, and chat was freely used and placed throughout the area by individuals and municipal and county agencies. There are approximately 30,000 people residing in the area, and most of the land on the Tar Creek site is allotted Indian Land.

On May 1, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of the Army to develop and implement solutions to the human health and environmental threats posed by the Tar Creek site. The MOU gives the federal agencies the opportunity to coordinate with the affected Indian tribes, the State of Oklahoma, local communities, and other stakeholders in determining the most effective manner for resolving the issues at this site.

At the present time, the EPA is the only entity that has actually accomplished results at the Tar Creek site. The EPA is directly responsible for progress through its yard remediation, community education, and blood lead testing programs. Approximately 1,780 residential properties have been remediated. As a result, there has been a 50 percent decrease (24 percent to 12 percent) in the number of children with blood lead levels equal to or greater than the 10ug/dL standard set by the Center for Disease Control. This is a notable and meaningful protection provided to the children, who we must remember are most at risk. And, we fully expect to see an even larger decrease when the county blood lead data is analyzed again in the spring of 2004. EPA continues to be intricately involved in the work being done to improve the health of the Tar Creek residents.

Joint Agency Tar Creek News Release - January 23, 2004