Slashdot | EPA To Buy Small Town In Kansas
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Paul D. Fernhout
Oct 31, 2009, 7:52:30 PM10/31/09
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http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/10/30/1830255/EPA-To-Buy-Small-Town-In-Kansas
""The Wichita Eagle reports that Congress has approved funds to relocate the
population of the southeast Kansas town of Treece, which is plagued with
lead, zinc and other chemical contamination left by a century of mining.
Estimates say it will cost about $3 million to $3.5 million to buy out the
town, which is surrounded by huge piles of mining waste called 'chat' and
dotted with uncapped shafts and cave-ins filled with brackish, polluted
water. 'It's been a long, dusty, chat-covered road, but for the citizens of
Treece, finally, help will be on the way,' said Senator Pat Roberts of
Kansas who has been pushing for a buyout of Treece for two years. The
population of Treece has dwindled to about 100 people, almost all of whom
want to move but say they can't because the pollution and an ongoing EPA
cleanup project makes it impossible to sell a house. The EPA has already
bought out the neighboring town of Picher, Oklahoma, stripping Treece of
quick access to jobs, shopping, recreation and services, including fire
protection and cable TV. Both cities were once prosperous mining communities
but the ore ran out and the mines were abandoned by the early 1970s. Of 16
children tested for lead levels in Treece, two had levels between 5 and 10
micrograms per deciliter of blood and one had a level of more than 10 times
the threshold for lead poisoning.""
""The Wichita Eagle reports that Congress has approved funds to relocate the
population of the southeast Kansas town of Treece, which is plagued with
lead, zinc and other chemical contamination left by a century of mining.
Estimates say it will cost about $3 million to $3.5 million to buy out the
town, which is surrounded by huge piles of mining waste called 'chat' and
dotted with uncapped shafts and cave-ins filled with brackish, polluted
water. 'It's been a long, dusty, chat-covered road, but for the citizens of
Treece, finally, help will be on the way,' said Senator Pat Roberts of
Kansas who has been pushing for a buyout of Treece for two years. The
population of Treece has dwindled to about 100 people, almost all of whom
want to move but say they can't because the pollution and an ongoing EPA
cleanup project makes it impossible to sell a house. The EPA has already
bought out the neighboring town of Picher, Oklahoma, stripping Treece of
quick access to jobs, shopping, recreation and services, including fire
protection and cable TV. Both cities were once prosperous mining communities
but the ore ran out and the mines were abandoned by the early 1970s. Of 16
children tested for lead levels in Treece, two had levels between 5 and 10
micrograms per deciliter of blood and one had a level of more than 10 times
the threshold for lead poisoning.""
A good place to build a simulated Mars base or Moon base?
--Paul Fernhout
http://www.pdfernhout.net/
http://www.beyondajoblessrecovery.org/
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