PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were built to last. So, beginning in the late 1920’s billions of pounds of it were produced across the country for use in construction materials, plastics and consumer goods. But over the next 50 years, evidence that PCBs were actually toxic began to mount, and the EPA eventually banned its production in 1979. That’s when the cleanup started…and when Scot Meisenheimer’s medical nightmares began. Tamia Fowlkes, a Public Investigator, and Caitlin Looby, a Great Lakes and Environment Reporter, both with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have spent the last two years investigating the cleanup and the consequences for contractors like Meisenheimer. They join The Excerpt to share their exclusive reporting.

Search for superfund sites in your area: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live For more on PCB cleanups: https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/managing-remediation-waste-polychlorinated-biphenyls-pcbs-cleanups

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