The PBB Disaster at 50 Digital Archive

In 1973 Michigan Chemical Corporation (owned by Velsicol Chemical Corporation) in St. Louis, Michigan, accidentally shipped a flame retardant, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), to a livestock feed mill where it was mixed into farm animal feed. The mix-up was not proven until April 1974--nearly 10 months later. During that time PBB entered the human food supply exposing an estimated 8.5 million Michiganders. The impact of this disaster, one of the largest in American history, continues to this day.

To learn more, visit the following partner websites:

•  Michigan PBB Registry  (Emory University)
•  The Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force  (St. Louis, MI)
•  Velsicol Superfund Sites  (St. Louis, MI)
•  Michigan Department of Health and Human Services 

On Friday, April 26, 2024, community members and partners celebrated the 50th anniversary of chemist-turned-farmer Frederic "Ric" Halbert and USDA scientist Dr. George Fries providing the state with irrefutable proof of the PBB disaster. To mark 50 years of community activism, advocacy, and partnerships, we released the anthology The PBB Disaster at 50: Reflections, Critical Lessons, and a Path Forward, as well as screened "The PBB Disaster at 50 Conference" film (both included below). In addition, we screened the short film, "Unfinished Business: Michigan's PBB Disaster 50 Years Later," by a crew of public history and history students at Central Michigan University, which explores the history and significance of the PBB disaster from their perspective, as well as invites a new generation of community members to get involved (we'll share it soon!). We intend for these materials to be community and educational resources.

The PBB Disaster at 50: Reflections, Critical Lessons, and a Path Forward is an anthology developed in the year after The PBB Disaster at 50 Conference. The volume is edited by Brittany B. Fremion (Central Michigan University) and Benjamin L. Peterson (Alma College) and features remarks, essays, and images from community members, partners, and artists. Contributors include Norman B. Keon, Margaret Hoyt, Terri (Shafer/Pell) Fountain, Carol Norman, Thomas H. Corbett, Edward Lorenz, Adam Ellsworth, Kathleen Gregones, Jane-Ann Crowley, Jennifer Knowles, Joy Vosburg, Debra Shore, Sheryle Dixon, and the Michigan PBB Registry Team (Emory University).

The book is made possible by funding from Michigan Humanities and is intended to be an open-access community and educational resource. To access a free copy, please click the "eBook" button below.

The short film created by Mark Boardman of Boardman Video Productions (Cadillac, MI) documents and highlights events from "The PBB Disaster at 50: A Conference to Commemorate and Learn from the Poisoning of Michigan" held at Alma College May 18-20, 2023. The film is one of several outcomes from the conference and is intended to help raise awareness about the disaster.

In spring 2024, students enrolled in Brittany Fremion's public history class at CMU produced a short documentary film about the PBB disaster. We screened the documentary at the book and film release event in Alma, Michigan, in late April 2024. Funding for the project came from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at CMU with support from the Department of History, World Languages, and Cultures.

The PBB Disaster at 50 conference commemorated the 50th anniversary of Michigan's PBB disaster by bringing together scientists, artists, policy makers, and community members to explore the history and legacy of this large-scale contamination. Through this multidisciplinary experience we brought the critical lessons of the disaster back into public discussion and consciousness, with the hope it would inspire continued action to address long-term environmental and human health outcomes. 

The conference was funded by a Humanities Grant from the Michigan Humanities Council and a grant from the Pine River Arts Council, along with generous support from Alma College, Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and the  Michigan PBB Registry , the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Central Michigan University,  The Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force , the PBB Citizen Advisory Board, and US Environmental Protection Agency.

Tickets were available on a day-by-day basis for the conference, free, and for in-person participants only. Conference proceedings were shared remotely via livestream on the Alma College YouTube Channel.

• Community Art Workshops, Alma College & Pine River Arts Council
•  Alma College Histories & Mysteries Podcast : "Cattlegate," a limited series exploring the history and impact of the PBB disaster in Michigan.

Stream episodes from this special, limited series intended to introduce listeners to the PBB Disaster. The Cattlegate series was funded by a generous grant from the Michigan Humanities Council and recorded in the Media Recording Studio of the Greg Hatcher Learning Commons at Alma College.

The Michigan PBB Oral History Project was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science, NIH, as part of the Michigan PBB Registry at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and in collaboration with the University of Michigan's Michigan Center on Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease (M-LEEaD), PBB community partners, and CMU History, Public History, and Cultural Resource Management students.

Credits:

• Kathleen Gregones, Presenter, Researcher, and Podcast Coordinator
• Alexander Kennedy, Presenter and Researcher
• Mallory Fenskie, Presenter and Researcher
• Benjamin Peterson, Engineer, Producer, and Advisor

Thursday, May 18, 2023 (starting at 7:00 pm)

Location: Art Smith Arena, The Hogan Center @ Alma College

• Welcome Reception and Environmental Art and Photography Exhibit Opening
• Institutional Welcome followed by Opening Comments from US Senator Gary Peters, Debra Shore, US Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 Administrator, and Norm Keon, PBB Community Member and Epidemiologist for Mid-Michigan District Health Department
• Keynote Address by Elena Conis, historian of medicine, public health, and the environment. She is the author of How to Sell a Poison: The Rise, Fall, and Toxic Return of DDT; Vaccine Nation: America's Changing Relationship with Immunization; and, with Aimee Medeiros and Sandra Eder, Pink and Blue: Gender, Culture and the Health of Children.
• Special Site-specific Dance Class Performance by Alma College Dancers, led by Dr. Catherine MacMaster

Friday, May 19, 2023 (starting at 9:00 am)

Location: Art Smith Arena, The Hogan Center @ Alma College

• Morning Sessions
  • PBB & Policy Panel Discussion featuring former and current local, state, and regional public officials
  • PBB & Community Panel Discussion featuring representatives from the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force, PBB Community Advisory Board, and Michigan PBB Registry Leadership Team
• Symposium: PBB & Environmental Justice, 12:30-1:30 pm
  • Lunch provided by Metz Culinary and the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force
• Afternoon Field Trip, 1:30-5:30 pm (charter buses will depart from/return to the Hogan Center)
  • Walking tour of Velsicol Superfund Site led by US EPA and on-site contractors, with representatives from the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force and City of St. Louis
  • Bus tour of St. Louis and greater Gratiot County with guest speakers and community members
• Dinner Break
• 7:00 pm - Screening of "The Poisoning of Michigan" (1977 documentary; run time 60 mins) followed by Film Discussion with:
  • Ed Lorenz (moderator), PhD, is Reid-Knox Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science at Alma College, Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force Vice Chair, conference cultural advisor, and PBB community partner.
  • Bus Spaniola served in the Michigan House of Representatives longer than any other democrat or republican in Michigan history, from 1975 to 1990. Bus played a critical role in the enactment of legislation that reduced PBB levels, provided funding for the long-term health study established by the state (now known as the  Michigan PBB Registry ), and provided loans to quarantined farms. 
  • Michele Marcus, PhD and MPH, is an environmental epidemiologist and lead scientist for the Michigan PBB Registry, which is now maintained by the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
  • Tom Corbett, MD and MPH, has written about the PBB disaster in Cancer and Chemicals (1977) and a forthcoming book. He witnessed the PBB disaster unfold. In the 1970s he warned state officials about the dangers of exposure to PBB. He is also a PBB Community Advisory Board member and is active in the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force.

Saturday, May 20, 2023 (starting at 9:00 am)

Location: Art Smith Arena, The Hogan Center @ Alma College

• Morning Sessions
  • Panel Discussion: Philosophy, Art, History, and the Environment
  • Panel Discussion: Environmental Justice, Law, and the Long Impact of PBB
  • Panel Discussion: A Public History & the PBB Disaster  
• Luncheon: PBB Heroes Recognition Event (see more about nominations below) and  Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force  Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, beginning at 12:30 pm. Lunch provided by Metz Culinary and the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force.
•  Michigan PBB Registry  Community Meeting and Youth Caucus with Dr. Michele Marcus, environmental epidemiologist and lead scientist, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health
• Closing Remarks

Community members nominated PBB community members and/or partners for PBB Hero Awards. Recipients were recognized during a conference luncheon on Saturday, May 20, 2023, and are profiled in the conference program as well as featured throughout the conference proceedings. The list of honorees can be found in The PBB Disaster at 50: Reflections, Critical Lessons, and a Path Forward eBook.

• Brittany Fremion, PhD, Professor of History at Central Michigan University, Michigan PBB Oral History Project director, Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force officer, PBB partner, and conference cultural advisor
  • fremi1b@gmail.com
  • 989-774-1094

• Benjamin Peterson, PhD, Co-director of the Center for College and Community Engagement and Lecturer in Political Science and History at Alma College, lead organizer and cultural advisor for the conference, and former lobbyist and political organizer
  • petersonbl@alma.edu

• Edward Lorenz, PhD, Reid-Knox Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science at Alma College, Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force Vice Chair, conference cultural advisor, and PBB community partner
  • lorenz@alma.edu

• Our organizing committee also includes:
  • Thomas H. Corbett, MD MPH, author and PBB Community Advisory Board member
  • Sheryle Dixon, PhD, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs at Alma College
  • Jim Hall, Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force Executive Committee member, PBB community partner, and former resident of St. Louis, Michigan
  • Robert Hood, PhD MPH, Postdoctoral Trainee Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology working with the Michigan PBB Registry in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University
  • Norman B. Keon, epidemiologist, Mid-Michigan District Health Department, Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force Executive Committee member, PBB community partner, and resident of the Pine River watershed
  • Catherine MacMaster, MFA, MEd, RYT, Lecturer in Dance for the Department of Theatre and Dance at Alma College
  • Alexander Montoye, PhD FACSM, Associate Professor of Integrative Physiology and Health Science at Alma College, conference organizer, and PBB community partner
  • Diane Russell, Community Involvement Coordinator for U.S. EPA Region 5 and the Velsicol Superfund Site in St. Louis, Michigan
  • Gary Smith, Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force Treasurer and Executive Committee member, and resident of St. Louis, Michigan
  • Elder Joseph Sowmick, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan Elder and Chair, Elders Advisory Board