Tar Creek
Encyclopedia
Tar Creek is a feature-length environmental documentary about the Tar Creek Superfund Site
, which at one time was considered the worst environmental disaster
in the United States. The land within the perimeters of this environmental disaster was bad enough that the federal government bought out the homes of citizens living there and moved them away. This documentary chronicles the long term effects of mining, tribal relations, United States Environmental Protection Agency
management, and ultimately concludes that environmental problems are human problems.
in the children, and sinkholes that do the unthinkable to small town America. This place is the stuff of science fiction. Except Tar Creek is centered around Picher, Oklahoma
, America's Heartland. And it might be the one place in the States where you'd swear you stepped into a third world country. It’s so bad here that the federal government is buying everyone’s homes and moving them out. At least they are trying to. Corruption from Senator Jim Inhofe's office on down to the local Trust in charge of the buyout has forced some to remain because they can't afford to move. This land belongs to the Quapaw
Tribe, and the Tribe will be handed back the worst Superfund
site in the country after the government moves everyone away. Worse still, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
made the mining companies leave all of this lead-laced waste rock on their land—75 million tons of it—which has caused this pandemic lead poisoning. For over 100 years, the government has been controlling Tar Creek, from Indian Removal
to subsidizing wartime mining to 200 million in cleanup funds to the eventual buyout of families. And the reason why these people were kept here for so long is one of the oldest and ugliest of our own legacy.
Tar Creek Superfund site
Tar Creek Superfund site is a United States Superfund site located in Picher and Cardin, Oklahoma. Chat piles left behind by the mining companies contain lead dust that has blown around the city. Elevated lead levels in Picher children have led to learning disabilities and other problems...
, which at one time was considered the worst environmental disaster
Environmental disaster
An environmental disaster is a disaster to the natural environment due to human activity. It should not be confused with the separate concept of a natural disaster.-History:...
in the United States. The land within the perimeters of this environmental disaster was bad enough that the federal government bought out the homes of citizens living there and moved them away. This documentary chronicles the long term effects of mining, tribal relations, United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
management, and ultimately concludes that environmental problems are human problems.
Synopsis
The Tar Creek area was home to one of the largest lead and zinc strikes on the planet. Now it’s home to America's worst environmental disaster. Acid mine water in the creeks, stratospheric lead poisoningLead poisoning
Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...
in the children, and sinkholes that do the unthinkable to small town America. This place is the stuff of science fiction. Except Tar Creek is centered around Picher, Oklahoma
Picher, Oklahoma
Picher is a ghost town and former city in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States. Formerly a major national center of lead and zinc mining at the heart of the Tri-State Mining District, over a century of unrestricted subsurface excavation dangerously undermined most of Picher's town buildings and...
, America's Heartland. And it might be the one place in the States where you'd swear you stepped into a third world country. It’s so bad here that the federal government is buying everyone’s homes and moving them out. At least they are trying to. Corruption from Senator Jim Inhofe's office on down to the local Trust in charge of the buyout has forced some to remain because they can't afford to move. This land belongs to the Quapaw
Quapaw
The Quapaw people are a tribe of Native Americans who historically resided on the west side of the Mississippi River in what is now the state of Arkansas.They are federally recognized as the Quapaw Tribe of Indians.-Government:...
Tribe, and the Tribe will be handed back the worst Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
site in the country after the government moves everyone away. Worse still, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
made the mining companies leave all of this lead-laced waste rock on their land—75 million tons of it—which has caused this pandemic lead poisoning. For over 100 years, the government has been controlling Tar Creek, from Indian Removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
to subsidizing wartime mining to 200 million in cleanup funds to the eventual buyout of families. And the reason why these people were kept here for so long is one of the oldest and ugliest of our own legacy.