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 "cancer-causing chemical" ...
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Toxic Towns, USA
The story follows a woman and her fight for environmental justice in Mossville, a once-rural African-American community now surrounded by chemical plants.
Tags: Mossville; environmental justice; Dorothy Felix; cancer-causing chemical
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"Study sees parking lots dust as cancer risk"
This investigation reveals a connection between common parking lot sealants and cancer-causing dust found in American homes. Coal tar sealant, meant to "protect pavement and asphalt" from cracking and other types of damage, slowly wears away over time. People can track the substance into their homes, which researchers believe is the reason "high levels of chemicals used in the sealant" shows up in house dust. The effects are potentially damaging, especially for "young children."
Tags: coal; tar; cancer; sealant; dust; U.S. Geological Survey; FOIA; chemicals
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"Schoool Radon"
The state of Pennsylvania does not require schools to test for radon, a cancer-causing chemical. In fact, the majority of school districts in the western part of the state had not "done any radon testing." Testing in other districts registered levels many times higher than the "EPA maximum safe level." One district that tested positive for radon did not share the information with parents.
Tags: Howe Elementary; Mount Lebanon; Gateway school district; Aliquippa; Allegheny County; Beaver County; Rochester; EPA
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In Harm's Way
The Houston Chronicle funded and conducted a study into air quality at 84 homes and 16 public places in four Southwest Texas communities adjacent to major refineries and/or chemical plants. The newspaper also analyzed more than a decade's worth of air pollution data collected by the state. The effort revealed that residents in this area were being exposed to elevated levels of dangerous and cancer-causing pollutants. Officials were aware of this and some of their own employees charged with monitoring the air were getting sick themselves. The study was able to pinpoint the culprit, adjacent industries.
Tags: pollution; industrial waste; public safety; pollutants; benzene; 1; 3-butadiene; air toxins; Texas Release Inventory; Texas Emissions Events; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
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In Strictest Confidence
An investigation of efforts to conceal damning research on cancer-causing substances (in particular, vinyl chloride) in the US and European chemical industries.
Tags: None
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Toxins pollute superstore site
This series exposed the fact that the source of a potentially cancer-causing chemical in the groundwater beneath several industrial buildings slated for redevelopment into superstores had not been determined despite investigations by state environmental officials and private consulting firms.
Tags: None
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Building 6: The Tragedy at Bridesburg
The book Building 6: The Tragedy at Bridesburg documents the deaths of at least 54 workers from lung cancer caused by exposure to BCME (bis-chloro-methyl ether) at the Rohm and Haas Corp., a large chemical company in Philadelphia. As a result of the book, families of many of the victims filed lawsuits against the company. Includes article from Chemical Week reporting "Rohm and Haas last week proposed a $25 million out-of-court settlement of lawsuits alleging that employee exposure to bis (chloromethyl) ether (BCME) and/or chloromethyl ether (CME) caused lung cancer...." and chapter excerpts from the book.
Tags: Worker safety OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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No title (id: 8629)
Miami Herald Tropic Magazine reports on a neighborhood in a suburban south-Florida town where the state health department told residents not to drink or use the city's water supply because it is contaminated with a cancer-causing gas; residents and their pets are getting sick and have symptoms of toxic-chemical poisoning, April 19, 1992.
Tags: None
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No title (id: 8190)
WFLA-TV (Tampa, Fla.) finds that county road crews were being exposed to potential cancer-causing chemicals without their knowledge, and they were disposing of the chemicals in an illegal manner, November - December 1991.
Tags: TAPE
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ILL WIND
Boston Herald surveys the state of Massachusetts to find what chemicals are released into the air, and finds large amounts of cancer-causing compounds are released by industries near densely populated areas.
Tags: Pollution; environment; industrial waste; Boston