Photos

Linda Jamison lives near Duke Energy’s Roxboro plant, one of the largest power plants in the country. She has been living off bottled water since contaminants like Chromium-6 were found in her well, but Jamison said she won’t move and give up the memories in the home she inherited from her family. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

The area known as The End of the World in Delacroix. Some of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina is still visible. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Eli Copeland shows off his fishing skills. A brain eating amoeba was found in a fire hydrant only a few hundred yards away from their home. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Eli has to wear a nose plug while he showers and drinks only bottled water. His parents are taking extra precautions after a brain eating amoeba was found in the water system that supplies their weekend home. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Many houses in the area are elevated to prevent flood damage, from the many waterways in Terrebonne Parish. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

A playground at Old Dominion Mine Park near Globe, Arizona. Years of mine activity has left groundwater contamination in the area that will take decades to fix, according to the Arizona Department of Environmenal Quality. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

The view of Claypool, Arizona from Old Dominion Mine Park. Contamination of groundwater in the area with pollutants like lead and copper dates back to the 1930s. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Environmental advocate Rebecca Jim said the water at Tar Creek contains tons of heavy metals. She said she is concerned about how people in the area have been affected by living in a Superfund site, both physically and emotionally. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Residents of Picher, Oklahoma were moved out amid concerns about contamination and the possibility of ground cave-ins due to heavy mining in the area. Some abandoned houses still stand in the area. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Tim Kent, the environmental director of the Quapaw Tribe climbs to the top of a pile of mine waste in Picher, Oklahoma. Chat piles still litter the landscape in Picher, Oklahoma. Cleanup could take another hundred years at the current rate, according to Kent. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

There are many abandoned buildings within the Tar Creek Superfund site. This sign appears outside the abandoned dance hall in Cardin, Oklahoma. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

A tree stands in front of a pile of “chat” in Picher, Oklahoma. Chat piles are made up of mining waste that is often contaminated with lead and other pollutants. Piles like these still stand throught the Tar Creek Superfund site. Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Debbie Baker sits in front of their Belmont home. Baker has been an outspoken advocate against coal ash since contaminants were found in her water over two years ago. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Debbie Baker lives near Duke Energy’s G.G. Allen Steam Plant. The plant burns coal to produce electricity for people in the area, and coal ash is a by-product of that process. (Photo by Jasmine Spearing-Bowen/News21)

Debbie Baker’s cat sits on top of one of the many cases of bottled water that are stacked around her home. Baker has been receiving shipments of bottled water, provided by Duke Energy, for more than two years.