<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Tar Creek </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> List of Superfund sites </Td> </Tr> <P> Tar Creek Superfund site is a United States Superfund site, declared 1983, located in the cities of Picher and Cardin, Ottawa County, in northeastern Oklahoma . From 1900 to the 1960s lead mining and zinc mining companies left open chat piles behind until the present day . The dust has blown around the city containing these metals, cadmium, and others . The metals have also seeped into groundwater, ponds, and lakes, many of which still are used by children for swimming . Elevated lead, zinc and manganese levels in Picher children have led to learning disabilities and other problems . The EPA declared Picher to be one of the most toxic areas in the United States . </P> <P> The Quapaw Nation of Oklahoma originally owned the area and leased property to mining companies . Government rules restricted many Quapaw landowners from realizing money from royalties, which companies paid on these leases . The people have suffered adverse health effects, including high rates of miscarriage and neurological damage to children, as a result of the unregulated mining activities . The Tar Creek Superfund site is the Oklahoma section of three sites that together encompass the Tri-State district, an old lead and zinc mining district with parts of southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma . </P>

When was tar creek named a superfund site