PCB cleanup workers say they weren’t protected. Now Scot has cancer.
From The Excerpt by USA TODAY
June 12, 2026 · 16 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the health impacts of PCB cleanup work, featuring insights from investigative reporters on the consequences faced by workers like Scot Meisenheimer.
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 Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com . Episode transcript available here . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at…
People in this episode
Host: USA TODAY
Guests: Tamia Fowlkes, Caitlin Looby
Topics covered
- PCB cleanup
- environmental health
- toxic waste
- investigative journalism
- superfund sites
Keywords
- PCBs
- cleanup workers
- cancer
- environmental investigation
- toxic substances
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, EPA
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