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 "asthma" ...
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Trouble in the Walls: Contaminated Chinese Drywall
Drywall from China, which has been contaminated, could become one of the” largest consumer disasters in US history”. Gases being released from the drywall are “corroding wires, air conditioners and shorting out electronics, and suspected of causing health problems like severe headaches, respiratory ailments, asthma attacks and nosebleeds”. Many homeowners can’t afford to move and would never be able to sell their homes, so they are trapped with nowhere to turn.
Tags: houses; housing; gypsum board; wallboard; housing market; government; health officials; families; construction; building
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Mattress Man
Local mattress retailer Handy Dandy Woods sells old used mattresses, re-covering them and passing them off to customers as new. The WHEC team took a hidden camera to the store and purchased mattresses and box springs, later cutting them open to expose filthy old mattresses. They also tested the mattresses for allergens and spoke with people who had bought mattresses from the same store. They also tracked down the person who had "rebuilt" the bedding.
Tags: Mattress; allergens; asthma; consumer fraud
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Failed 9-1-1
A 19 year old Hillsborough County youth died from an asthma attack because an enhanced 9-1-1 system, required by law and paid for by customers, was not in place. The authors also found that the fire rescue back-up systems were not in place.
Tags: emergency services; Hillsborough County; public safety; enhanced 9-1-1 system
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State of the Child - Health, Asthma and Lead
The city of Chicago has some major problems when it comes to the health of children. Chicago leads the nation with the highest number of lead poisoned children, and the resources it has to combat the problem are not enough. The Chicago area is "the nation's epicenter for the asthma epidemic." Yet, there are no comprehensive asthma awareness programs in the city, and officials have no way to find or monitor affected children until they end up in a hospital. African-American and Hispanic children are the most affected by the lead and asthma problems facing Chicago.
Tags: health; Center for Disease Control; medicine; doctors; Environmental Protection Agency. Illinois Department of Public Health
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Children Left Behind
The reporters set out to assess the problems children in Cleveland face. They managed to uncover hazards that even the public officials and community activists who had dedicated their careers to these issues. for example, they found that half a million Ohio Children live next door to a toxic waste site. Another finding was that nearly 1 million children live in poor housing, putting them at greater risk for fires, accidents, and environmental health hazards such as lead poisoning and asthma. They also discovered that babies born to teenage mothers are much more likely to be premature, and these babies had cost the state roughly $161 million dollars in five year. Another finding was that children of color were in most danger, they account for about a quarter of all child deaths.
Tags: toxic waste; poor housing; fires; accidents; environmental health; teenage mothers; teen pregnancy; premature babies; inner-city neighborhoods; Guatemala; African American children; child deaths; Ohio Environmental Protection Agency; Planned Parenthood; Federation for Community Planning; Ohio Department of Health; lead poisoning; poor housing; asthma; Child deaths; food banks; poverty; Rocking Horse Center; birth rate; child mortality rate; hazardous waste sites; Sherwin-Williams; Benjamin Moore; Environmental Health Watch in Cleveland; pollution; youth prison; Youth Health Empowerment Project; STD's; birth control
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Last Gasp
The Fresno Bee reports on increasing smog in the San Joaquin Valley. Some of the major findings are that as Los Angeles air gets cleaner, the Valley's smog problem is worsening; state and federal officials have failed to pay attention to the pollution in the area; polluting vehicles and diesel engines are common in the Valley; agricultural businesses are exempted from air pollution permits; small-particle pollution, connected to high death rates nationwide, presents an even bigger problem than the smog.
Tags: smog; air quality; air pollution; San Joaquin Valley; small-particle pollution; diesel engines; agricultural pollution; EPA; environment; wildlife; health; asthma; children; ozone cleanup; scientific research; automobile emissions; cars; database mapping project
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The Next Battle Over Clean Air
"New research confirms that particle pollution is killing at least 64,000 people a year. But big industry is mounting a full assault against new regulations." Hillary J. Johnson reports on both sides of the corporate companies and the people who are affected by these emissions.
Tags: Environmental Protection Agency; Centers for Disease and Prevention; pollution; asthma; healthcare; diseases; air
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Huntsman's Odessa Syndrome
The Texas Observer investigates claims that gas odors from the Huntsman Polymers' plastics plant is affecting the health of citizens living in nearby Odessa, Texas. The Observer reveals that the Huntsman plant has had a number of "flares" -- or brief periods of unexpected and unavoidable plant emissions that are not regulated -- in recent years that could be making residents sick. Many residents of Odessa have breathing problems.
Tags: Odessa; Texas; Huntsman Polymers' plastics plant; health; cancer; breathing; asthma
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"Does Civilization Cause Asthma?"
This investigation aims to get to the bottom of a troublesome public health issue: The number of asthma sufferers in the U.S. has nearly doubled since 1980, making the debilitating disease "more prevalent and more damaging than ever before." Common culprits - cockroaches, dust mites, mold, pet hair, diesel fumes, smoke - no longer explain why asthma is the world's "affluent disease." Modern research suggests traditional Western means of fighting the disease - modern hygiene and antibiotics - have backfired.
Tags: Bronx; respiratory illness; child health; allergies; ephedrine; health care
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The Air We Breathe
This investigation examines the air quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency for New York City. The story shows that these standards are routinely violated, and New Yorkers -- in record numbers -- now have asthma.
Tags: TAPE TRANSCRIPT; Environmental Protection Agency; environment; pollution; New York City; air quality EPA