ST. LOUIS, MI — More than 50 years after Michigan’s “PBB Disaster,” the United States Environmental Protection Agency is still dealing with the aftermath.
EPA crews are constructing a barrier wall at the Velsicol Chemical Superfund site in St. Louis to keep contaminated soil and groundwater from flowing into the nearby Pine River.
The Velsicol Chemical Plant in Gratiot County caused an environmental disaster that resulted in the deaths of millions of farm animals, financial ruin for farmers, and poisoning for millions of people in the state.
The chemical company’s shipping mix-up was the trigger point. In the spring of 1973, the Michigan Farm Bureau placed a bulk order for Nutrimaster, a magnesium oxide mixture commonly used in dairy feed to help cows produce more milk.
Instead, they were sent Firemaster, a fire retardant containing polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) that was nearly identical in color and consistency to Nutrimaster.
However, the poison spread beyond the batches that were directly mixed with Firemaster. The machinery used to mix the feed was also contaminated, resulting in toxic levels of the harmful material being spread into the feed for months.
Over the next few years, more than 500 farms in Michigan were quarantined, and approximately 30,000 cattle, 4,500 swine, 1,500 sheep, and 1.5 million chickens died or were slaughtered as a result of the contamination. That does not include the animals that showed clear signs of PBB toxicity but still passed safety protocols and were sold and slaughtered.
People also reported major health issues. Roy and Marilyn Tacoma were the primary plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the chemical company and the Michigan Farm Bureau. She described some of her health issues in court.
Marilyn experienced random fainting attacks, uncontrollable diarrhea, and sporadic moments of temporary blindness in the weeks following their animals’ exposure to contaminated feed and her family’s consumption of animal products. Her children frequently complained of severe joint and foot pain, as well as being extremely lethargic.
According to studies, PBB contamination spread throughout the commercial chain, and nearly everyone in Michigan at the time had some measurable amount of PBB in their system. And because the chemical compound is stored in fats, it was passed down to future generations via breast milk.
Velsicol Chemical Corp. closed in 1978, and several environmental contaminants were discovered on the site, including PBB and the pesticide DDT (diphenyltrichloroethane).
The EPA and the state of Michigan reached an agreement in 1982, and the agency has been working on and off ever since to complete the cleanup at the site. The barrier wall is one of the last projects planned for the Superfund site. Work on the barrier wall, which is scheduled to begin this month, should be completed by the fall.
Tom Alcamo, the now-retired remedial project manager for the Superfund site, told News 8 in 2023 that the containment portion of the project was on track to be completed in 2026, barring major funding changes. The EPA will still need to address the property’s cap, as well as groundwater extraction and treatment.
