In 1973, Michigan Chemical Corporation mistakenly shipped the fire retardant polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) to an agricultural feed company Farm Bureau Services. As employees believed the poorly marked bags contained the vitamin supplement magnesium oxide, they mixed it with cattle feed and shipped it across the state. Soon, tens of thousands of cattle became ill, severely deformed, or died. This plague continued for 9 months until a farmer named Rick Halbert discovered the cause and several more months before the infected herds were quarantined. By then nearly 9 million Michiganders were poisoned, sparking a health crisis that continues to the present.
