Tar Creek Movie (Extra Credit #1)

Tar Creek (2009) tells the story of Picher, Oklahoma, the most toxic place in America.

During WWII, a great amount of lead was needed for the war; during this time Picher, Oklahoma was the biggest producer of lead in the world. The companies mining Picher, Oklahoma were to busy lining their pockets to worry about mining Picher correctly. When a mining company mines any location in the United States, they are supposed to leave that land the way they found after they are done. This did not happen in Picher.

Seen above is a chat pile. Chat is basically fine, ground up lead left over from mining larger pieces of lead. And this is not the extent of the problem, chat piles this size and bigger surround the town of Picher; they are almost all encompassing. The children of Picher have been victims of increased lead counts for years; many of the children have learning disabilities. As if all of this wasn't enough, a particular Native American tribe was even pushed off of this land by mining companies once it was discovered that it was rich in lead.

The makers of this film did a very good job producing this work. I do my fair share of documentary watching, and this one was very well exicuted, and even featured a soundtrack by blues legend Watermelon Slim. The filmmakers did a good job of engaging the audience by bringing in several view points; native tribe leaders, environmental Professors, older men who had worked in the mines, and average members of the community. However, the most engaging part of the entire film was simply the shots of the chat piles. These were unbelievable to see, and just plain shocking. Helicopter cinematography was utilized to capture the hugeness of these piles.

This superfund site (the #1 superfund site) has been deemed the most toxic place in America, and the biggest environmental disaster in America. The lead mines and chat piles have been abandoned for over 50 years now. I cannot believe that 1. I have not heard of or seen this place before and 2. I cannot believe that the government has not stepped in to help clean this place up. It is baffling that nothing has been done about this catastrophe for over half a century. However, this was a very well done production, and therefore, I very much believe that it will have an impact and hopefully help draw attention to Picher and get it cleaned up, finally.

Here's one final, unbelievable picture of Picher for the road: