I attended high school in Northeastern Oklahoma which is presently the number one environmental super fund site - a result of lead and zinc contamination from old mines. I delivered my daily newspapers by crossing the infamous "Tar Creek" which is located in the heart of the contamination controversy. Over a period of several decades a mammoth mountain of 1.7 million tons of lead and 8.8 tons of zinc were mined.
But in retrospect, it appears that our class was not noticeably impaired by living in the lead contaminated environment as a large percentage of the group advanced on to become professionals in many fields of study. Baseball’s Mickey Mantle grew up three miles north of our city in the heart of mining country and I think he would have agreed the local beer was more damaging than the water.
Therefore, I find it difficult to understand why all the fuss about lead shot.
