Synaptic Snaps, Crackles & Pops

Chat Piles in Oklahoma [Journalistic Intentions, Rd. 8]

Chat piles? What are those? Just mounds of dirt, right? Not even close. Chat piles are part of the toxic leftovers of lead and zinc mining. Mining in the American Midwest was—and still is—big business, with substantial amounts of lead and zinc still being mined in Missouri, although the Red Dog Mine in Alaska is the largest operation.

Dry processing the mined ore creates a fine gravel-type waste commonly known as "chat", while wet washing or flotation separation results in tailings which are collected in tailing pond impoundments. While the tailing ponds present much greater environmental and human health risks via direct contact, due to the higher concentration of heavy metals, chat piles are also dangerously contaminated and dust from them can be carried on the wind.

The town of Picher, Oklahoma is an example of what can happen as a result of unrestricted subsurface excavation. Shafts were dug under so much of the town, that there was danger of imminent collapse of more than 85% of the town's buildings [think 'No-Name City' in the movie musical Paint Your Wagon]. There are huge piles of chat surrounding the town, and it had contaminated the groundwater. Children were especially at risk, as they played on the piles and put it in their sandboxes. This resulted in more than 34% of the children suffering from lead poisoning, according to a 1994 screening. The town has been disincorporated and included in the Tar Creek Superfund Site.