Only 34 of the 100 families eligible for the Tar Creek, Oklahoma, relocation plan have applied for a buyout, the Associated Press reports.

The plan provides money to families with young children from the Tar Creek Superfund site in the northeastern part of the state. Children living there are at risk due to millions of tons of mine waste containing dangerous levels of lead at the site. A study showed that children in Tar Creek had lead levels four times the national average and six times the state average.

But some families don't want to move because of longtime ties to the area. Some say they don't want to leave behind relatives that don't have young children.

The Tar Creek site is considered the worst in the nation. More than 70 million tons of mine waste was left on land owned by members of the Quapaw Tribe and other individual Indians.

Get the Story:
Tar Creek buyout yet to draw takers (AP 12/3)

Related Stories:
Panel tackles issues affecting Tar Creek buyout (09/09)
75 million tons of mine waste left in Tar Creek (04/12)
Bush's EPA slow to add sites to Superfund priority list (03/09)
Okla. Senate approves buyout bill for Tar Creek site (03/03)