The Tar Creek mine site was originally owned by a Native American tribe, the Quapaw. The Quapaw wanted to keep these lands, but the Bureau of Indian Affairs deemed members opposed to a transaction with mining companies “incompetent” (1). If that were the case, the business could continue, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs sold the lands to mining companies. Essentially these lands were stolen from the Quapaw because they were ripe for mining. These mines were then used from 1891 to approximately 1970. In the 79 years that the mines remained open, 1.7 million tons (~3.75 billion pounds) of lead and 8.8 million tons (~19.4 billion pounds) of zinc were removed from the mine ( 2 ). The entire area around Tar Creek is known as the Tri-State Mining Area. This tri-state area was a huge source of metals. This area represented 35% of the world's metal for a decade. It also supplied most of the metals used by the United States in World Wars I and II (3). During this extraction process a by-product called chat is created. The chat consists of leftover rock and mining waste that did not contain the desired materials. The chat was left on the site because the Bureau of Indian Affairs thought it might be helpful to the Quapaw Tribe (1). This chat contained high levels of toxic lead and other harmful chemicals. It is estimated that there are 75 million tons (150 billion pounds) of chat piles left exposed to the environment, as well as numerous flotation ponds that have not been accounted for (4). The chat wasn't the only lasting outcome of the mining; 300 miles of mining tunnels also remained in this corner of Oklahoma (5). These tunnels were created by a method known as room-and-pillar (1). Large rooms were mined to gain access to...... middle of paper...... fund site. EPA Cooperation Agreement No. V-006449-01-N. U Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 2006.13. Fourth Five Year Review Tar Creek Superfund Site Ottawa County, Oklahoma; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6: Dallas, TX, 2010.14. "Guide." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 18, 2004. Web. April 28, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/15. Saulny, Susan. Welcome to our city. I wish we weren't here. The New York Times. The New York Times, September 13, 2009. Web. April 28, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/us/14kansas.html?hp16. Wright, Matthew C. Contaminated mining town dies as residents get paid to leave. Washington Post. The Washington Post, January 18, 2007. Web. April 28, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011201692.html