The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Gas leaks" ...
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Are Our Pipelines Safe?
A look at whether or not D.C.'s largest utility company, Washington Gas, neglects natural gas leaks, putting the public at risk.
Tags: Natural Gas; Utilities
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Secret Spills?
The investigation exposed a disturbing secret about the oil and gas industry: spills, leaks, fires, explosions and emissions that are putting lives at risk, polluting the air, contaminating drinking water, destroying land, causing injuries and even death are happening all the time, nearly everyday in the U.S., and no one is keeping track.
Tags: gas industry; oil; explosion; spills
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Children of Bhopal
In 1984, the Union Carbide pesticides factory in Bhopal, India leaked 40 tons of the highly poisonous gas, methyl isocyanate. Fifteen thousand people died, and those who survived have "endured horrific health problems over the past 26 years." Because the factory was never cleaned up, residents (including children) who still live in the impoverished area are subjected to the poison daily.
Tags: India; pesticide; Dow Chemical; cricket; Union Carbide
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Fire Mark: Did prosecutors wrongfully convict a 17-year-old of triple homicide in the 1995 blaze that killed three firefighters?
The Innocence Institute of Point Park University looked into the conviction of Greg Brown who was charged with arson in a fire that lead to the death of three firefighters. Through their reporting efforts, the Innocence Institute the fire was not started by Brown - it was cause by a natural gas leak, not arson. And that some of the main witnesses had been paid as much as $10,000 to testify.
Tags: wrongful conviction; arson; crime; Innocence Project; FOIA; ATF; Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
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Gas Line Explosions
Older soft copper gas lines have been linked to a series of home explosions. Regulators mandate such lines be replaced, but a KTVI investigation found that tens of thousands remain under homes. The homeowners never suspect, because the corrosion and gas leaks usually begin the yard, allowing the scent to be filtered out of the natural gas "as it travels through the soil into the home."
Tags: Gas leaks; homes; dangerous gas lines; at-risk homes; soft copper gas lines
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Trust Us
Laclede Gas uses estimating billing for customers, making it impossible to verify. "In the way the system is constructed, consumers basically had to trust Laclede and its billing practices." Further investigations found that new meter reader systems were imporperly installed causing the gas to leak.
Tags: gas; billing; utilities; Laclede Gas; Missouri; estimated billing; gas meter readers
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Crown Victoria Police Car Fires
From the contest entry summary: "Greg Hunter examines the allegedly dangerous design of the most popular police car in the United States, the Ford Crown Victoria Police Cruiser. Critics of this car say the gas tank is in a dangerous place. The tank is directly behind the rear axle, and in a high-speed rear-end collision, the tank smashes into the axle and is punctured, causing fuel leaks that catch the vehicle on fire." Other Ford vehicles -- about 3 million cars with the same design defect -- also pose safety questions.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; safety; deaths; law enforcement; lawsuits; transportation
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Gas Mask U.S.A.
WPTV-TV reports on the Florida Attorney General busting Gas Mask U.S.A. for selling bogus gas masks in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The attorney general investigation was launched after WPTV-TV broadcast a story in November 2001 about the fake gas masks.
Tags: Gas Mask U.S.A.; Florida Attorney General; fake; fraud; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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Hutch gas problems
KWCH-TV reports on gas leaks at Yaggy Field in Reno County, Kansas, which are believed to be responsible for two explosions in Hutchinson. "Gas has been escaping from the field for several years and the owner has known it," the investigation reveals. Documents from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, received through an FOI request, showed that the pressure in one of the wells had been dropping but the inspectors did not report this to the state until after the explosions. Another major finding is that, "while Kansas had more underground natural gas storage wells than any other state, it had only two inspectors, far fewer than any other state."
Tags: single pipe system; energy; explosions; Kansas open records; FOIA