CATTLEGATE

CATTLEGATE
I learned about this story in the book "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie (2009)

It happened in 1973's on Rick Halbert's dairy farm in Michigan. His 400 cows were becoming increasingly sick. They decreased milk production and they showed some abnormal symptoms, such as hoof growth, hair loss and severe reproductive abnormalities. His veterinarian could not diagnose any disease. Halbert suspected his high-protein feed supplies by Michigan Farm Bureau Services. Halbert was no ordinary farmer – he was a chemical engineer too, and he had worked 3 years for the Dow Chemical Company. He spent $5,000 on his own testing of the feed.

PBB, which is a flame retardant for plastic parts by the Michigan Chemical Corporation, was found in the cow's feed. The same company also sold magnesium oxide to Farm Bureau Services, to add to dairy feed to increase cow's milk production. The PBB was confused for magnesium oxide when the company ran out of pre-printed bags. Between 225 and 400 kg of PBB were accidentally shipped to Farm Bureau Services and mixed with cow's feed.

The source of contamination was identified only 9 months after it entered the food chain. It took another year and a half to track down all the contaminated livestock and poultry. Several thousand farm families and wider public had consumed poisoned meat, eggs and milk in the meanwhile.

A study which has tracked health in Michigan points to the link between the PBB exposure and increased risk of cancers of breast and digestive system and higher rate of reproductive system complications. Five years after the incident about 97% of people in Michigan still had measurable level of the PBB chemical in their bodies.

At that time one of the most popular Michigan bumper stickers read "PBB-Cattlegate Bigger Than Watergate".