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 "fertility" ...
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Net Gains and Losses
The largest commercial harvester of menhaden, an obscure fish used for fishmeal and fertilizer, may be wiping out the fish to extinction.
Tags: fish; overfishing; Omega Protein; menhaden; Gulf of Mexico
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"Barnegat Bay Under Stress"
This series of stories investigates the gradual demise of Barnegat Bay, the "largest coastal estuary" in New Jersey. Reporters found that thousands of pounds of fertilizer and other "land-borne pollution" is flowing into the bay. The investigative series resulted in Gov. Chris Christie shutting down a nearby nuclear power plant and earmarking millions of dollars for "special environmental control funding."
Tags: Gov. Chris Christie; pollution; wildlife; stormwater; Oyster Creek; nuclear power plant; estuary; fertilizer; jellyfish; Ocean Gate; Toms River; EPA
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PharmaWater
"The year-month long project by the AP National Investigative Team found that drugs- mostly the residue of medications taken by people, excreted and flushed down the toilet- have gotten into the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans in at least 24 major metropolitan areas, from Southern California to Norther New Jersey." A follow-up was written after the original series.
Tags: health; pollution; medicine; water; drinking water; urban; city; sewer system; waste management; pharmaceuticals; wildlife; fertility; birth control; estrogen
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Why Aren't We Safer?
Five years later, ABC News examines the question of how much safer we are after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The report mentioned how easy it remains to acquire ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which is used in explosive devices. The investigation found that customers paying cash can get the substance at local agricultural supply stores and "move it to a storage warehouse a few miles from the White House, undetected."
Tags: September 11, 2001; terrorism; ammonium nitrate; fertilizer bombs; improvised explosive devices
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Black Market Infertility
Infertile couples that wish to have a child together are illegally buying medications to increase their chances of having a baby. Without insurance to cover the expenses, couples are taking to the internet to find the medicine they need.
Tags: drugs; sex; fertile; infertile; kids; medical care; medical insurance
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Extreme Babymaking
The FDA recently outlawed some of the procedures that fall under the umbrella of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). But, just because they're not legal in the United States does not mean that desperate American women won't go through a lot of effort to try these controversial procedures. This article talks about the extremes women go through to try and become pregnant, and how their present choices (traveling overseas and going to unsafe clinics) are worse than the options they used to have, when the procedures were allowed in the U.S.
Tags: pregnancy; in vitro fertilization; fertility; hormones; FDA
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Spreading Sickness
A KENS-TV investigation revealed that human waste or sludge is being dumped on Texas farmland as fertilizer.
Tags: Texas; farmland; fertilizer; human waste; sludge; sickness; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT
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Derailed Lives
"A train derailment and fatal chemical spill on Jan. 18, 2002, in Minot, N.D., exposed the vulnerability of our nation's transportation of common but hazardous agricultural chemical," the Forum reports. The story depict the disaster -- known as the largest spill of anhydrous ammonia, a farm fertilizer -- in the world but also investigates its causes. The main findings are that pre-1989 railroad tanker cars are susceptible to puncturing in accidents in cold weather; tracks often contain a number of defects; and rescue workers and hospitals are ill-prepared for disasters.
Tags: emergencies; hazmat; hazardous materials; lung injuries; death; acid burns; railroad transportation; safety; Canadian Pacific Railway
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Fateful Harvest: The True Story of a Small Town, a Global Industry, and a Toxic Secret
Wilson's book tells how "toxic heavy metals, dioxins and radioactive wastes are being recycled as fertilizer on farms, yards and gardens nationwide." The author profiles a small farming town - Quincy, Washington - and depicts the local government and community controversial reactions to the use of the unsafe fertilizer. The main finding is that "some large, polluting industries saved millions of dollars in hazardous-waste disposal costs through the fertilizer loophole, while the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) looked the other way."
Tags: BOOK; environment; pollution; agriculture; farming; Association of American Plant Food; chemical manufacturers; lead; contamination
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Every Man A Kingpin
The Texas Observer reports on the meth epidemic. "Nazi meth" is easy to cook in rural areas. The only component you can't get at Wal-Mart is anhydrous ammonia, which can be found in fertilizer tanks that dot the rural landscape. Meth cooks face high sentences in rural courts. "Unlike guns, drugs are not viewed as agents of harm. They are harm itself, measurable in grams," the Observer reports.
Tags: meth; meth labs; methamphetamines; Nazi meth