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JUNE 27, 2000

The Quapaw tribe of Oklahoma wants to sell waste from mines called "chat" as soon as the Bureau of Indian Affairs lifts a 1997 ban on the sale of the material.

Chat on Quapaw lands have been linked to high lead contamination in soil and blood-lead levels in children 10 times highter than the state average.

The state Department of Environmental Quality bans the use of loose chat in driveways and areas where children might be exposed, but consider it safe when used for asphalt roads.

The state has no opposition to the lifting of the ban. Non-Indian sales of chat have continued during a federal cleanup of chat-contaminated soil.

Quapaw Chairman Ed Rodgers said the tribe will abide to all state guidelines in selling the waste.

Get the Story:
Tribe wants to sell 'chat' -- Substance used to build roads (The Daily Oklahoman 6/27)