Contact:
Dr. Bonita Taffe, Section Manager; 517-335-9490
In the spring of 1973 polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), a fire retardant sold under the trademark Firemaster BP-6, was inadvertently added to dairy cattle feed rather than the feed supplement Nutrimaster. The mix-up was not recognized until the spring of 1974 when PBB was identified as the substance causing death and illness in dairy cattle. During that year PBB had become widely disbursed in the agricultural food system and in the bodies of Michigan residents. The MDCH, together with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and three other federal agencies, began a major study to assess the health effects of PBB. A health questionnaire and blood samples were collected from people affected by the feed contamination incident. The Laboratory had the responsibility to analyze several thousand samples for PBB from 1975 to 1978. MDCH continues contact with this cohort, updates health questionnaires and conducts occasional special research studies in conjunction with the Health Risk Assessment Lab. Testing for PBB is only offered as a fee for service through a physician request.
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