There were some alarm buttons pressed last May when this list noted a front page story in the Washington (DC) Post which described the lingering effects of lead poisoning in the lead and zinc mine areas of OK and MO. Readers reacted, many with concerns about what it meant to their health. A new "alarm" was struck last night in Ted Koppel's "Nightline" program on the ABC TV network as he reported on the plight of nearby Picher OK. After spending millions of dollars to clean up the area, there are now plans to buy-out residents and abandon the entire city and flooding it. The program interviewed residents who held pro and con views. There were pictures of the "chat" (tailing) piles of residue from the abandoned mines that are evident throughout the Jasper County area. There were tales of playing on them, swimming in the water-filled mine holes, cave-ins, use of the tailings in road building, home foundations, cement, etc. All reflect the memories of my growing up in Webb City and similar scenes throughout Jasper Co. Did you see it? Photos of miners gathered in front of a mine shafts were shown. Some dated as recently as the 1940's. So many messages on this list have asked about ancestors who worked in the mines--many of whom may have been around only a short time, moving on as the mines closed. Many of the communities in this county and the surrounding area were literally "towns that Jack (lead and zinc) built." Webb City was a "boom" town. A lighted sign across a main street read : "Webb City MO, The Zinc City." Then in 1918, according to a history of the city, the greatest ore strike in the Tri-State (MO, KS, OK) area was discovered in OK. Similar to the "gold rushes" we've read about and seen in the movies, miners flocked to the OK mines--so fast that many mines in the Webb City area closed "in a matter of hours." Miners reportedly abandoned their tools and machinery which became covered with water and lie in the abandoned tunnels that are scattered underneath the city and surrounding areas. Have studies been conducted in Jasper County similar to those in Picher OK? Certainly the "boom and bust" aspects of the mines left their mark on the county and must be considered as we research the travels of our ancestors who lived in this area. But what effects did residence there have on their health? And what about the health of those still living in the county? Has this been studied and discussed locally?