Fundred Dollar Bill Project Aims to Fix New Orleans' Lead-Contaminated Soil

By Eve Abrams

New Orleans, Louisiana – Visual artist Mel Chin has been working on an ambitious plan to make New Orleans' lead-contaminated soil safe for kids. Chin's multi faceted art project - called the Fundred Dollar Bill Project - involves children across the country, a bank vault in the St. Roch neighborhood called The Safehouse, and an armored truck powered by used vegetable oil. The Fundred Dollar Bill Project enters its final stages in New Orleans with a send-off party, called The Rescue City 2B, on Friday, November 6, 2009. The party will launch Chin on an 18,000 mile journey to Washington DC, where he hopes to turn 300 million fake dollars, called fundreds, into real dollars to fix New Orleans' lead-contaminated soil. Lead poisoning can be devastating for children. Studies have linked exposure to lead-contaminated soil to learning disabilities, health problems, and a tendency toward violence. Chin, along with a team of lead scientists, wants to be part of the solution. Eve Abrams brings us this story. For more information on The Fundred Dollar Bill Project, go to fundred.org