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The collection, 1974-2018 (Scattered) and undated, documents the impact of PBB on the Neyer family and their cattle and dairy farm, their ongoing efforts to educate themselves and the public about the dangers of PBB, in the media, and politically, and to fight for financial reimbursement in Circuit Court, and to understand and document the impact of PBB on their health.

The collection, 1974-2018 (Scattered) and undated, documents the impact of PBB on the Neyer family and their cattle and dairy farm, their ongoing efforts to educate themselves and the public about the dangers of PBB, in the media, and politically, and to fight for financial reimbursement in Circuit Court, and to understand and document the impact of PBB on their health. Parts of the collection were generated or collected by brothers David and George “Tim” Neyer. The collection has several broad series. The first and largest of these, over half of the collection, is collected documentation of the disaster and its impact. Research journal articles, newspaper and magazine clippings from local, state, and national publications, reports, fliers, and newsletters compose about half of the collection. Also in this series are correspondence, fliers, bills, and related information Neyer and his family collected from researchers, physicians, politicians, Michigan State University, Farm Bureau Services, the PBB Health Studies, a variety of beef and agricultural organizations. There are nine folders of materials from the Michigan departments of Agriculture and Public Health, later Community Health. Also included are communications, newsletters, and other information from organizations which sought to educate and inform farmers and the public about PBB and/or advocate for the farmers, notably the PBB Action Committee of Reed City (2 folders). A second series is the documentation of the direct impact of PBB on the Neyer family and farm as recorded the Neyer brothers’ ongoing efforts to tell the story from their perspective in the media, including newspapers and on television, in family cow photographs, family correspondence to Neyer and to politicians by Madden relatives, health test records, and the Neyers’ claim in Circuit Court, and related materials and correspondence with lawyers Abood, Abood and Abood, P.C. MI. Lastly, Tim’s efforts as a member of the PBB Citizens Advisory Board for Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health and its MI PBB Registry are documented in five folders. The collection is organized by size, alphabetically and chronologically.

Health test results are in Box 1 in 3 folders: Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, MI PBB Registry, Correspondence, Test Results of George Neyer and Informational Materials, 2004-2018 (Scattered), undated; MI. Dept. of Public Health, Long-term PBB Study, Correspondence, Proposal, Forms, Test Results of George and Kacey Neyer, 1975-1988 (Scattered); MI. Dept. of Public Health, Long-term PBB Study, Correspondence, Test Results of George Neyer, 2000-2012 (Scattered). In 2023 Archivist Marian Matyn obtained permission from George and Kacey Neyer to retain and make available for public research the family’s medical test results. Copies of the permission form are in the relevant folders in Box 1.

Processing Note: A total of .5 cubic feet of materials, mostly acidic or poor-quality newspaper clippings and articles, such as thermal copies, were returned to the donor as per the donor form. Photocopies of these items were retained in the collection. Also returned to the donor were a few items that were peripheral to the collection, such as copies of general family photographs. All photographs remaining in the collection were sleeved for preservation and access purposes.

The collection, 1997-2016 (scattered), and undated, consists of materials printed in 2019 from 3 DVDs, documenting information about the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force (CAG), and material related to the PBB contamination of cattle feed by Velsicol Chemical in the 1970s in Michigan, with a focus on contamination of St. Louis. The 2020 Addition Acc#76923 includes Boxes 13-20 and one Oversized Folder, 2003-2004, 2006, 2011-2016. Most of the contents includes investigative and final reports on the ecological, water supply, and human health risks in St. Louis related to the Velsicol Superfund Site, cleanup proposals and remedial action investigation report and contracts for the same site, including one specifically for the golf course, previously the Velsicol Burn Pit. Allergy Note: Please note Boxes 13-20 and the Oversized Folder have a musty or mildew smell to them.

Allergy Note: Please note Boxes 13-20 and the Oversized Folder have a musty or mildew smell to them.

The collection, 1997-2011 (scattered), and undated, consists of materials printed in 2019 from 3 DVDs, documenting information about the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force (CAG), and material related to the PBB contamination of cattle feed by Velsicol Chemical in the 1970s in Michigan, with a focus on contamination of St. Louis. CAG materials compose the majority of the collection (5.75 cubic feet in 12 boxes). The CAG documents were either generated on a computer or scanned and retained in a computer. They include newspaper clippings, meeting agendas, memos, meeting minutes, emails, journal articles, event posters, handwritten notes, financial records, and member rosters. The PBB and Velsicol documents include newspaper articles about the contamination. Copies of a few earlier references from the 1960s are included. Also included are copies of two DVDs that contain videotaped interviews of two CAG members, Jane Keon and Melissa Strait by Comcast Newsmakers, 2008. These interviews were also accessible, as of 2019, on the CAG Facebook page. The topic is the receipt of the Carter Partnership Award by the CAG and Alma College. Melissa Strait was a member and chair of the chemistry department at Alma College. Copyright of the DVDs is unknown, likely held by Comcast Newsmakers. The collection is organized according to original order.

This is the only collection documenting the CAG and its efforts to attain federal government recognition of the contamination in the St. Louis area and fund its remediation. Until the CAGs efforts began to make national news, there was minimal effort to document the tragedy outside of those directly impacted by it. Michigan’s PBB tragedy was largely forgotten. The CAGs efforts re-energized awareness of the tragedy. As a result, Alma College, Central Michigan University, University of Michigan, and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, faculty, staff and students began to document, collect and preserve primary source materials for future researchers, including ongoing health issues of effected people of the tragedy. Without the CAGs efforts, St. Louis would remain an undocumented major national toxic site.

The 2020 Addition Acc#76923 includes Boxes 13-20 and one Oversized Folder, 2003-2004, 2006, 2011-2016. Most of the contents includes investigative and final reports on the ecological, water supply, and human health risks in St. Louis related to the Velsicol Superfund Site, cleanup proposals and remedial action investigation report and contracts for the same site, including one specifically for the golf course, previously the Velsicol Burn Pit. Authors of the reports include CDM Smith; CH2M Hill; Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr and Huber, Inc.; Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; Weston Solutions of Michigan, Inc. (sometimes their name on reports is typed as Weston Solutions Inc. of Michigan). Also included is the draft chapters and list of chapters of Keon’s book Tombstone Town: Left for dead, marked with a tombstone, a toxic town fights back, 2015, which includes more detailed information than what was included in the book. The addition is organized in alphabetical order by creator name, then by title. Most of the materials were in large binders originally and were foldered retaining the order of the binder contents.

Processing Note: Two DVDs were copied that contain videotaped interviews of two CAG members, and the originals were returned to donor as per the donor’s request. One W2 found in the collection, which contained a personal social security number, was removed from the collection.