A different sort of health concern is dividing residents both near and far. From Vietnam to the Midwest, health officials are dealing with the fatal effects of dioxins, a family of toxins considered the most poisonous manmade substances ever. Dioxins have been known to cause birth defects, cancer and other life-threatening conditions. Their spread around the world is linked in part to the use of the herbicide Agent Orange in the 1960s. But in Michigan, several communities located along the rivers that flow from Saginaw Bay are polluted by dioxins from a Dow Chemical plant. People have known about this for 30 years. But they’re conflicted over whether the government should force Dow to pay for a cleanup that could cost tens, or even hundreds, of millions of dollars. As part of an ongoing series on Dow and dioxins, the Environment Report’s Shawn Allee traveled to the area and talked with some of them.

Related:
A Long History of Dioxin Cleanup Delays
Toxic Waste Contamination Has Impacted Central Michigan for 30 Years
Michigan Residents Discuss Delays to Address Dioxin Pollution

Music Button: Bill Frisell, “Monroe Pt. 2”, from the CD History Mystery, (Nonesuch records)