Is Picher OK a Superfund site?

Tar Creek Superfund site is a United States Superfund site, declared in 1983, located in the cities of Picher and Cardin, Ottawa County, in northeastern Oklahoma. The EPA declared Picher to be one of the most toxic areas in the United States.

Can you still drive through Picher Oklahoma?

Can You Visit Picher, Oklahoma Today? Yes, you can still visit the town, just as I did. As of the year 2020, some side roads are closed (due to chat and sinkholes) but the main road that runs through the community still exists and will still take you past town into Kansas.

Do they still mine in Picher Oklahoma?

The municipality of Picher was officially dissolved on November 26, 2013. The Picher Mining Field Museum, which had been housed in the former Tri-State Zinc and Lead Ore Producers Association building, was destroyed by arson in April 2015.

Is Picher Oklahoma safe?

You might be asking yourself if it’s safe to visit Picher. Certainly, you do not want to go ahead and roll around in the toxic mountains of poisonous metals, but the main road in Picher is still open. You are perfectly welcome to pass through if you want, though we wouldn’t recommend staying too long. . .

What has happened in Picher Oklahoma to make it the largest Superfund site in the United States?

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, patriotism surged and so did the metal mines in Picher. When metal mining stopped in the 1970s, the Environmental Protection Agency declared Picher a superfund site. It’s a name given to areas so polluted they’re placed on the national priority list for clean up.

Why is Picher Oklahoma abandoned?

It was a hardworking, typical small town in the United States. Today, Picher is a ghost town in the truest sense of the term. The school closed down, and businesses shut their doors for good. In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency evacuated the town, deeming it unlivable.

Why is Picher OK abandoned?

The groundwater was contaminated with ridiculous levels of lead, and the mining-induced eroded soil made sinkholes and cave-ins a serious risk. In 1983, the Federal government included the mining town as a Tar Creek Superfund site, a program to aid the communities of Picher and Cardin, Oklahoma.

What is the most toxic state in the US?

Alaska
As a state, Alaska produces the most toxins (834 million pounds)

When did Picher OK become a Superfund site?

In 1983, the Picher area became part of the Superfund program as part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site. In the mid-1990s, the EPA began removing six to 10 inches of topsoil from Picher residents’ yards in the hopes that it would reduce exposure to chat dust and contaminated water.

Where is the Tar Creek Superfund site in Oklahoma?

Background Information. The Tar Creek Superfund Site is located in Northeastern Oklahoma (Ottawa County), near the Oklahoma-Kansas state line (Figure 1 Cdc-pdf[PDF – 285 KB]). The site comprises a 40-square mile area and includes the communities of Picher, Cardin, Hockerville, Quapaw, North Miami, and Commerce.

What kind of contamination was found in Picher OK?

In 1980, the state of Oklahoma’s tests revealed heavy metal contamination in Picher. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plugged wells and studied the local aquifer.

How big was the mine in Picher OK?

Miners carved into the earth underneath Picher. The lead and zinc ore they hauled out had to be separated from the limestone and dolomite rock that surrounded it. And the remains were piled into chat mountains around town, some 300 feet high. By the time mining ceased in the late 1960s, there were 30 piles totalling 178 million tons.