EPA to host open house in Carthage to discuss pending mining cleanup

Apr. 7—Since 1995, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has been cleaning up mining waste and contaminated soils across Joplin, Webb City, Oronogo and Duenweg with generally some positive results.

Even as it continues to work in those areas, the agency is now looking to expand the existing Oronogo-Duenweg Mining Belt Superfund Site to include all of Jasper County.

The EPA has announced that it plans to hold an open house in Carthage to discuss the contamination that likely occurred in Carthage and rural areas of eastern Jasper County and the ways the agency can help fix any contamination left over from the mines and smelting operations.

"We would really love for the community to come and participate, and tell us if they have any concerns," said Liz Blackburn, Oronogo-Duenweg Mining Belt Lead Remedial Project manager with the EPA.

"What are their thoughts, how are they concerned about lead, how has lead impacted their lives" are the questions for which the EPA needs answers, Blackburn said. "We want to get their input on this cleanup process. We'll talk about the Superfund process, and all of the partners that will be involved in the cleanup we hope will be there as well.

"That includes the Jasper County Health Department, that includes the state of Missouri, that includes the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, all of those partners."

Blackburn said the evidence of mining in Carthage may not be as obvious as the chat piles and water-filled pits in and around Joplin, Webb City, Duenweg and Oronogo, but historic maps show that mines were set up on land that is now inside the Carthage city limits and in the surrounding rural area.

The EPA is funding a project in which Missouri Southern State University's Spiva Library and the Jasper County GIS office are putting former mine sites on the county's Beacon maps.

By going to the GIS department on the website jaspercountymo.gov and selecting the Beacon map, people can click on the two boxes marked "environmental" and see areas where cleanup operations have taken place and the location of mines throughout the county.

"That's one of the things the public can look to is that Beacon database to understand has mining occurred within those areas," Blackburn said. "And we know it historically has all over Jasper County."

Blackburn said the expanded Superfund site would give residents across the county a chance to take advantage of testing and cleanup services the EPA can provide.

"When an area is included within a Superfund site boundary, it allows EPA to address the risks of pollution and work with the community to ensure that the cleanup is conducted in a way that is beneficial to the community," Blackburn said. "The cleanup process also allows contaminated properties to return to beneficial reuse. Examples of redeveloped cleanup areas in Jasper County include the Route 249 highway bypass, solar farms and a 300-acre commercial business park — all of which were areas that were cleaned up by EPA."

The EPA said people who live near former mines need to be aware that the soil around those sites can be contaminated with lead and other toxic metals like cadmium.

The affects of lead and cadmium are more pronounced on children under 7 years old and on women who are pregnant or might want to become pregnant.

If someone lives near a former mining site and is concerned about contamination, Blackburn said they can get their children's blood tested to see if they might have elevated blood lead levels.

"What we encourage people to do is we suggest that annually kids' blood get tested," she said. "We typically suggest people to go to their doctor or the Jasper County Health Department. They offer blood-lead testing, and that's how you would know if your child or a person who could become pregnant could have elevated blood-lead levels and any concerns in that area."

On the web Jasper County's Beacon Online GIS map can be found at jaspercountymo.gov/gis.