This is the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) response to public health concerns at the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. ATSDR has created a plan that describes the public health concerns it will address. The plan is based on ATSDR’s review of environmental data from the site and on meetings with tribal representatives, Local Environmental Action Demanded (LEAD) Agency, Inc., and staff members from federal, state, and local agencies. The plan also informs ATSDR’s partners of the agency’s goals and activities.
The plan’s goals are 1) to describe those public health concerns of which ATSDR is aware, 2) to determine whether the agency can or will address these concerns, and 3) to state those reports, if any, ATSDR will prepare and distribute. This plan is ongoing; as ATSDR evaluates public health concerns at the Tar Creek Superfund Site, the plan can be modified, and the status of ongoing activities can be updated.
A team of ATSDR staff members conducts ATSDR’s evaluation. The ATSDR team members are listed in Appendix A, which also contains a map of the Tar Creek Superfund Site.
As of August 2006, ATSDR identified the public health concerns that the agency will address:
These public health concerns are summarized in Table 1 and are described in further detail in the following subsections.
Table 1: Summary of Health Concerns for the Tar Creek Superfund Site
Project # |
Public Health Concern |
Description |
Status |
ATSDR Staff Lead |
Requestor |
1 |
Tribal Consultation |
Official meeting with tribal leaders and their representatives to determine how ATSDR and tribes will work together and what public health activities ATSDR will address |
Tribal Consultation held July 13, 2006 |
Campbell |
ATSDR |
2 |
Fish Consumption |
Consumption of fish from the Neosho and Spring Rivers watershed |
ongoing |
Mellard |
Tribes |
3 |
Wild Food Consumption |
Consumption of native wild foods from the Tar Creek Superfund Site and from the Neosho and Spring Rivers watershed |
ongoing |
Mellard |
Tribes |
4 |
Child Health Issues |
Possible arsenic exposure in some children from Ottawa County |
ongoing |
Mellard |
Ottawa Co. Health Department |
5 |
Health Outcome Data |
The rate of various diseases and deaths for Ottawa County and the Tar Creek area |
Public Health Assessment released Fall 2006 |
Dearwent, |
Residents |
6 |
Air Quality |
Exposure to windblown contaminants from the chat piles |
ongoing |
Mann |
Residents |
7 |
Transportation of Chat |
Exposure to windblown contaminants from roads used by vehicles carrying chat |
ongoing |
Mann |
Residents |
8 |
Review of chat pile data set |
Review of EPA’s environmental data set for the chat piles, mine and mill residues, and for smelter waste. Determine other possible pathways of exposure |
ongoing |
Mann |
ATSDR |
9 |
Riverview Park, Miami |
Evaluation of sediment data from Neosho River and the potential impact of flooding on Riverview Park and other areas |
ongoing |
Mann |
Residents |
As ATSDR staff members work with residents, tribal leaders, and staff members from other agencies, this plan could be revised to add new activities to the list or to describe the final outcome of listed activities. Changes in the plan will be indicated by revised text and a change in the date.
ATSDR is committed to addressing the public health concerns of the communities affected by the Tar Creek Superfund site. ATSDR expects to provide updates to its plan for the Tar Creek Superfund Site once or twice a year as public health activities are conducted and completed. To be notified of updates to the plan, please join our mailing list at one of our public meetings or notify La Freta Dalton, Health Communication Specialist at 404-498-1743 or LDalton@cdc.gov. You can also call toll free (1-800-CDC-INFO) and ask to be transferred to Ms. Dalton. The customer service representative who answers the telephone for CDC-INFO will transfer you to an ATSDR operator who will forward your call to Ms. Dalton. We welcome your comments and involvement with our activities.
The descriptions that follow describe the nine public health concerns that ATSDR has will address as part of its plan.
Tribal Consultation (Campbell)
Status-to-Date
ATSDR hosted an official Tribal Consultation for the 10 tribes potentially affected by the Tar Creek Superfund Site. The Tribal Consultation was held June 14, 2006 in Wyandotte, OK. The consultation’s purpose was to talk with elected officials of the 10 tribes or their representatives and to develop jointly a plan that addresses public health issues related to the Tar Creek Superfund Site.
During the Tribal Consultation, ATSDR staff presented a draft of the agency’s plan for Tar Creek, and participants discussed the nine activities identified in the plan. During the meeting, tribal leaders and their representatives raised various health concerns about the Tar Creek Superfund Site, which concerns have been added to the plan. Notes from the meeting were prepared and were shared with tribal representatives.
Following the meeting, ATSDR established the Tar Creek health team. It consists of representatives from the tribes, LEAD Agency, the Ottawa County Health Department, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, and ATSDR. The health team enables ATSDR staff to work closely with the agency’s partners while evaluating and completing plan activities. The team’s first conference call was July 13, 2006.
Next Steps
Current or Expected Products
Accomplishments
Status-to-Date
Residents in Ottawa County have requested that ATSDR evaluate the available fish data from the Neosho and Spring Rivers watershed to determine whether fish from the watershed are safe to eat. Residents also are concerned about eating fish from ponds within the boundaries of the Tar Creek Superfund Site.
In 2002, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) collected fish samples from ponds in the Tar Creek Superfund Site and from the Neosho and Spring Rivers down to Twin Bridges State Park. ODEQ presented its findings and recommendations in a report available from: http://www.deq.state.ok.us/LPDnew/Tarcreek/GovrTaskForce/TarCreekFishReport.pdf.
Members of the Tar Creek health team reviewed the ODEQ report and agree with its findings. The team plans to forward recommendations to Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) concerning the future collection of fish samples. The Tar Creek health team will also develop a fish consumption health education plan. When new data are available from ODEQ, ATSDR may decide to write a public health assessment that focuses on fish consumption.
Next Steps
Current or Expected Products
Consumption of Wild Foods (Mellard)
Status-to-Date
Residents in Ottawa County have expressed concerns about eating wild foods collected from the Tar Creek Superfund Site and from other areas in Ottawa County, particularly along the Neosho and Spring Rivers watershed.
During ATSDR’s Tribal Consultation, staff members discussed with tribal representatives consumption of wild foods. Several participants raised concerns about the confidentiality of some native foods. Tribal representatives also expressed concerns about the following foods:
The Tar Creek health team will review these issues and recommend an appropriate course of action. ATSDR and the health team will need to determine whether available soil and sediment data will support public health decisions about native foods or whether such foods must be collected and analyzed for site-related contaminants. These efforts may or may not lead to a public health assessment about consumption of native foods — that decision will be made at a later date.
Next Steps
Current or Expected Products
Status-to-Date
The Ottawa County Health Department contacted ATSDR concerning possible arsenic exposure in several children that occurred over the past few years. ATSDR is establishing a confidentiality agreement with a physician in Tulsa and his employer to share medical information and to develop case reports for each child. These confidential case reports will contain medical and environmental information and will be used to determine the possible presence of a common environmental factor.
ATSDR staff members met with the Tulsa physician in June 2006 to discuss the cases. Following evaluation of the case reports, ATSDR will work with the local health department to decide on appropriate public health actions.
Next Steps
ATSDR will
Current and Expected Products
Health Outcome Data Review (Dearwent and Lyke)
Status-to-Date
LEAD Agency released a health survey indicating that among Ottawa County residents, several diseases are elevated. In discussing the LEAD Agency survey, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), agreed to work with ATSDR and jointly review available health outcome data. Both agencies worked with representatives from LEAD Agency to identify those diseases and health conditions to be covered in the health outcome data review. OSDH and ATSDR are writing a joint report that will be available to the public in fall 2006.
Next Steps
Current or Expected Products
Status-to-Date
Residents in Ottawa County have expressed concern about air quality from windblown contaminants from the chat piles. Because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Harvard University are collecting air quality data for Ottawa County, ATSDR will hold discussions with EPA and other agencies to determine what air quality data are available. If sufficient air quality data are available, ATSDR will evaluate these data and determine the feasibility of a public health assessment focused on air quality. ATSDR may evaluate the types of data currently collected to determine whether those data are sufficient to evaluate the public health significance of local air quality.
Next Steps
Current or Expected Products
Status-to-Date
Residents are concerned about breathing windblown contaminants from 1) roads covered with chat and from 2) trucks loaded with chat. ATSDR will hold discussions with EPA and other agencies or institutions to determine what data are available for windblown contaminants from roads and from trucks carrying chat. ATSDR will decide the feasibility of a public health assessment focused on airborne chat transport.
Next Steps
Current or Expected Products
Review of Environmental Data from the Chat Piles (Mann)
Status-to-Date
EPA has collected environmental data as part of operable unit 4 (OU4), which involves the environmental investigation of the chat piles, the mine and mill residues, and smelter waste.
ATSDR and the Tar Creek health team will review these data to determine whether residents are currently exposed to hazardous waste from the Tar Creek Superfund Site. That is, ATSDR will determine whether a human exposure pathway has been overlooked and whether this exposure pathway requires further attention by ATSDR or by other federal, state, or local agencies.
Next Steps
Current and Expected Products
Status-to-Date
A resident raised a concern about contaminated sediments deposited on surface soil at Riverview Park, Miami.
ATSDR will evaluate the availability of appropriate sediment and soil data from the Neosho River watershed to determine whether flooding of the Neosho River onto Riverview Park could create a health hazard. ATSDR also will evaluate other areas along the river where people might come in contact with flood-deposited sediment. This evaluation may lead to a public health assessment focused on sediment contamination in public parks.
Next Steps
Current and Expected Products
We welcome your comments and questions concerning ATSDR’s plan. You can direct comments or questions to Ms. Jennifer Lyke in ATSDR’s Dallas regional office (214-665-8363, JLyke@cdc.gov) or to Dr. David Mellard in Atlanta, Georgia (404-498-0443 or toll-free at 1-888-CDC-INFO; DMellard@cdc.gov).
Please call Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time. You may leave a message if you call after business hours. Someone will return your call as soon as possible. When calling ATSDR’s toll-free number, please ask to be transferred to David Mellard with ATSDR.
Map of Tar Creek Superfund Site [PDF, 396KB]
The ATSDR Team
Leaslie Campbell - Environmental Health Scientist, ATSDR, Atlanta
LaFreta Dalton - Health Communication Specialist, ATSDR, Atlanta
Dr. Steve Dearwent - Epidemiologist, ATSDR, Atlanta
Charles Green - Health Communication Specialist, ATSDR, Atlanta
Beatrice Lunsford-Wilkins - Nurse Epidemiologist, ATSDR, Atlanta
Jennifer Lyke - Public Health Advisor, ATSDR, Dallas
John Mann - Hydrologist, ATSDR, Atlanta
Dr. David Mellard - Toxicologist, ATSDR, Atlanta
Rachel Powell - Health Communication Specialist, ATSDR, Atlanta
Richard Sullivan - Health Communication Specialist, ATSDR, Atlanta