Slow Train Wreck

Only some of us could see the damage that would occur but the train was moving so slow, the urgency felt by too few.

Our lead poisoned children were not going to die from their exposures in this train wreck, not immediately, since their levels were too low for that dire consequence. The effects that would occur wouldn’t necessarily even be visible but would be life-long and would impact every organ of their bodies. 

This threat is the reason EPA has spent over $300 Million dollars to reduce children’s exposure to this poison.

Our children meant something. They were important in a fiscal way to people who would never meet them or us, but they were also important to our state and the federal government.

They are worth the effort and I believe that effort must continue on into the future to protect the yet unborn children from the poison that will harm them. Lead poisons. Our site, this place, this county, our children were first harmed yes, by the industry itself, the industrial processes nearest those residing closest to the “action” of mining. When there are homes, neighborhoods and even towns in the heart of that work, their young, their child-bearing mothers and the actual workers were “ground zero.” Through the actions of two of our state’s governors, children and their whole families were the targets they were focused on to protect. First, Governor Keating was alarmed by the fact children in this state were being poisoned where they lived, just by the fact they were LIVING there. Governor Henry picked that up and convinced our state government to put up FIVE MILLION DOLLARS to move families with children 6 years old and younger OUT of the epi-center that put their lives most at risk.

We were all learning about lead poisoning back at that time. At least some of us were. But lead poisoning effects are rarely visible during the years of the actual poisoning. So, parents, mothers especially couldn’t SEE anything wrong, so they felt NO urgency to take the first buy-out offered in the mining district, the only one targeted to prevent lead poisoning of their children.

Lead exposure is harmful to especially young children because they are still growing, all of the organs that will support them throughout their lives are damaged, but also, what can be witnessed in schools is their ability to learn, to hear instruction and to concentrate. They need all “their wits about them” to be successful in school. When children fail to succeed in school, we know this can also lower their ability to be successful in their extended lives.

There was a time when our local doctors, nurses, both the Indian Health clinic and the county health department worked together like there was a house on fire and there were children to save. The fire was put out, metaphorically when the towns of Picher, Cardin and the communities of Hockerville and Treece, KS were bought out, our most vulnerable were out of critical danger. They were scattered to where they could find housing, the stability of the familiar gone, but also, they were safe from the threat of harm from cave-ins, but the escape also removed them from exposure to lead.

There was no celebration held for the closing of the towns. There were no thank you cards sent to the EPA or any federal official. Most of the people who were forced to move didn’t want to be ripped away from their homes or the familiar lives they were living.

But they were safer. It was just hard, all of it was hard. Friendships were broken, trust lost, childhood changed. New schools took them in, they made room, but were they welcomed? Did the open house events hang banners? I don’t remember any of that happening.

Lead poisoning kicked this off, then the knowledge and understanding that the land beneath whole parts of our county put anyone there in danger. Both were the un-seen threats. The un-seen moved governments to action, mostly for people who were and may still feel no gratitude.

And the work continues. Many are still reluctant participants. The whole of Ottawa County is a superfund site. Not because of the mining, but what happened to the waste. Get out in front of the train, get your yard tested for lead for FREE, and get your children tested too.

Time doesn’t dilute lead. But while the EPA believes in making Ottawa County safer for future children, I ask you please to get on the train and do your part.

Respectfully Submitted ~ Rebecca Jim

PS:  To have your yard tested for lead, simply call the DEQ Hotline and request your home be added to the list. 1-800-522-0206. If high levels of lead are found, it can be removed and replaced with clean soil, all for free. This is because our kids are the future. Let’s give them a real chance at a healthy life.

Consider watching LEAD CHILDREN a new mini-series on Netflix. Join LEAD Agency’s efforts for the environmental justice you deserve.