Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters spent more than two years investigating worker safety complaints related to the historic Lower Fox River PCB cleanup project.
Scot Meisenheimer, who worked at the cleanup site for several months in 2013, spent the past 11 years battling cancers that he believes arose from exposure to the toxic chemical.
Here are some highlights from the investigation:
Scientists say there is no safe level of PCB exposure
According to experts, PCBs – or polychlorinated biphenyls – are carcinogenic to humans, and especially linked to certain types of cancer like melanoma and lymphoma.
Scientists say there is no safe level of PCB exposure. Inhaling PCB-tainted dust or touching contaminated sediment and water increases risk of exposure, they said.
Protections at the Green Bay cleanup site fell short of federal standards
Tetra Tech, an environmental engineering company, oversaw the Lower Fox River PCB cleanup.
Under both Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines, Tetra Tech was supposed to regularly monitor air quality, provide disposable coveralls, and prohibit eating, drinking and smoking onsite.
Meisenheimer and other workers told the Journal Sentinel that the PCB cleanup facility was dusty and the air filters were often dirty. He and others also said they wore denim coveralls, sometimes for several days without being washed.
Workers also ate inside of the facility, Meisenheimer and others said.
Years later, OSHA investigated the cleanup site for similar issues
In 2019, after receiving more than 30 complaints about safety concerns, OSHA opened an investigation into the facility.
According to inspection reports, OSHA found that Tetra Tech did not create a work environment “free from recognized hazards.”
Workers were seen entering clean areas with contaminated gear and removing their dirty uniforms without gloves, the records show. Employees washed their hands but often failed to wash their faces, necks and other exposed body parts, OSHA found.
OSHA issued no citations, but offered recommendations to improve worker safety.
Experts say Meisenheimer’s cancers are associated with PCBs
Since working at the facility in 2013, Meisenheimer has been diagnosed with cancer four times. He has two types of cancer: melanoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
It is difficult to link cancer to a specific exposure. People encounter countless chemicals and environmental factors over a lifetime, and there is no way to test each one in isolation.
However, two scientific experts said Meisenheimer’s specific types of cancers are both linked to PCB exposure. One called it one of the strongest cases he had seen.
Tetra Tech has not paid for medical treatment
Meisenheimer settled a workers’ compensation case with Tetra Tech and AIG, the company’s insurer, in 2018. The settlement required Tetra Tech to cover cancer treatment related to a specific day in November 2013 when Meisenheimer laid in a puddle to fix a floor sweeper.
AIG has since refused to pay. Meisenheimer’s cancer treatments have cost more than $1 million, most paid by his insurance company or Medicare.
When Meisenheimer attempted to reopen his workers’ comp case, Tetra Tech and AIG denied that Meisenheimer was permanently disabled as a consequence of exposure.
Tetra Tech is refuting what it calls Meisenheimer’s “outrageous allegations.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Were workers exposed to cancer from the Fox River PCB cleanup? What we found
Reporting by Tamia Fowlkes and Caitlin Looby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
