Settlements made in cases for 7 children

Published: January 1, 2004

MIAMI, OK A lawyer for seven children allegedly poisoned by lead in the Tar Creek Superfund Site said settlements have been reached in their lawsuits against eight mining companies.

Records in the federal cases are sealed, but Tulsa attorney Brad Barron said the parties came to terms earlier this month.

He said he was prevented from saying anything more by the agreements reached with the companies that formerly mined and milled lead and zinc in a 40-square-mile area of Oklahoma's northeast corner.

The lawsuits came against Asarco Inc., Blue Tee Corp., Goldfields Mining Corps, NL Industries Corp., Childress Royalty Co., The Doe Run Corp., Ore and Mineral Recovery Inc., and RJJ Inc.

They were filed between January 2002 and June 2002 on behalf of seven Picher children.

The plaintiffs alleged the children suffered lead poisoning because of contamination and that the mining companies intentionally concealed their knowledge of the severity of the harmful health effects of lead contamination.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has spent years removing lead-contaminated soil from residents' yards after tests showed children with dangerously high levels of lead in their blood.

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