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Tar Creek Air Monitoring Project Information:
This project was born out of the environmental and health concerns resulting from the Tar Creek Superfund Site. Previously, there had not been any significant air quality studies in or around the Tar Creek Superfund Site despite that the fact that air quality is the primary concern of the majority of residents and Quapaw tribal members.
Dust blowing from chat covered road.
Wind eroded chat pile.
Despite repeated refusals from US EPA Region 6's Superfund Program to fund a comprehensive air monitoring project at the Site, the Quapaw Tribe was successful in convincing the Region's Air Program to review existing air quality data at the Site to determine if additional monitoring was warranted. As was expected, EPA's Air Program recommended a comprehensive monitoring project to determine the extent of air pollution at the Tar Creek Superfund Site.
In October 2002, the Quapaw Tribe received funding from US EPA Region 6 to established four tribal air monitoring sites located in the Picher-Cardin area to monitor for particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), lead, and silica.
The monitors became operational on October 1, 2003 for an 18 month period. After one complete year of air sampling and monitoring data is available, US EPA Region 6 Air Program and the Quapaw Tribe will review it to determine if any further air sampling or monitoring is warranted.
Ten high volume air samplers (five lead and five PM10), two low volume PM10 air samplers silica sampling data, and two low volume continuous monitors (one PM10 and one PM2.5) are being operated at four air monitoring sites in Picher and Cardin. The four air monitoring sites are located near homes, and in neighborhoods, that are downwind of chat piles. One background site is located approximately two miles south of Picher at the Quapaw Tribe's Industrial Park. Over 1,320 (600 lead, 600 PM10 and 120 silica) air samples will be collected during the first year.
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