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 "lead contamination" ...
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Kids and Cadmium: Dangers Exposed
After U.S. lawmakers barred toy manufacturers from using lead in their products, they began replacing that ingredient with cadmium. Products containing the equally as dangerous ingredient were on the shelves of many national chain stories, including Wal-mart. The reporter shows evidence that Wal-Mart knew some of its products were contaminated and had no plans to stop selling them.
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Fly Ash: Coal-Fired Dilemma
This series of stories showed how a virtually unknown state environmental policy, blessed by the EPA, let developers sculpt an 18-hole golf course with 1.5 million tons of "fly ash," a contaminant-laden residue left from the burning of coal for electricity, posing a threat to the wells of adjacent homeowners. Fly ash contains heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury, which can pose environmental threats through air and water. Although the EPA has been studying the the environmental;ecological impacts of fly ash for decades, it has twice determined that it doesn't warrant classification as "hazardous waste." The result is that there are no national guidelines for fly ash disposal; regulation is left up to the states, resulting in a hodge-podge of policies.
Tags: environment; EPA; contaminant; coal industry; fly ash; testing; site assessment; homeowners
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Contaminated Water
The country's second largest school district knowingly exposed many of its students to drinking water that contained an unsafe amount of lead. It was uncovered that the Los Angeles Unified School District knew decades ago that the water was tainted.
Tags: LAUSD; department of health; EPA; water fountains; poison; contaminant;
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Assignment Peru: Poison in La Oroya
American mining company Doe Run bought a metalurgical plant in La Oroya, Peru, promising to clean it up after tests showed 99 percent of children born after the take-over had incredibly high level of lead contamination. Ten years later, the company has asked for extensions on the deadlines.
Tags: lead poisoning; air pollution; Doe Run; Hunter Farrell; SEC filings; La Oroya; Peru;
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What's a Life Worth?
The series began with an investigation into the affects of asbestos contamination on the small country town of Ragland, AL., and its relation to the international asbestos trade and legislation in congress to stem the tide of asbestos related lawsuits. It ended with an investigation of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, which is responsible for protecting the public from environmental asbestos and other hazards.
Tags: asbestos; contamination; public health; Alabama Department of Environmental Management; law suits; lead; PCB; mesothelioma; FOIA
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Hidden Hazards: A Legacy of Neglect
Robert McCabe unmasked a failed environmental protection system on the local, state and federal level in Chesapeake, Virginia, that permitted developers to build housing on lands with serious pollution problems. In his first report, McCabe explained how in one subdivision, the lead contamination is so high that home buyers in part of the neighborhood will be forbidden to grow vegetables or to water their lawns with groundwater. Furthermore, their homes sit over an old dump site with high levels of underground combustible gas.
Tags: pollution; Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ); River's Edge at Quailshire; environmental hazards; lead contamination
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La Oroya
KMOV reporters investigated a smelter in La Oroya, Peru, run by a St. Louis-based Doe Run Company. La Oroya has been heavily contaminated by the smelter and almost every child in the small community has tested positive for lead poisoning.
Tags: Environment; pollution; lead poisoning; Peru; Doe Run Company; metal smelter; Andes
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Poisoning of a Town
The town of Herculaneum, Missouri was built around the Doe Run plant, now the nation's largest lead smelter. Though officials say they have taken measures to limit pollution and contamination from the plant, the area still shows much higher levels of lead than normal. It affect the soil, the air, and especially the several children who live near the plant and now have too-high levels of lead inside of them. The article examines not only the legal issues, but also the conflicting feelings town residents have about their ties to the plant versus their safety.
Tags: lead poisoning; environment; health; pollution; contamination; Department of Natural Resources
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Toxic material lingers at depot
Streater's Star-Telegram article explains the contamination of soil in the surrounding areas of the Forth Worth Federal Center. The Center used to be an old Army supply depot, and stored, for over sixty years, lead, magneses ore, and additional raw materials. After looking over 5000 pages of Federal, state, and city records, the Star-Telegram uncovers a few hidden facts. The soil of a nearby preschool and playground are both contaminated. Environmental consultants warned that humans should not be in contact with contaminated areas. There is speculation of drums of buried chemical waste, including Agent Orange (circa Vietnam) somewhere in the area.
Tags: Fort Worth Federal Center; North Greenbriar; contaminated soil
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Florida's Water Crisis
The Orlando Sentinel published a 12-chapter series "of special reports focusing attention on what many experts see as the state's long-term water crisis." The most critical issues faced by Floridians include decreasing water supplies, more factors leading to lower water quality and scientific and political barriers to long-term solutions.
Tags: water; Florida; groundwater; drought; aquifers; rainfall; St. Johns River; wetlands; springs; wildlife; environment; lakes; septic-tank contamination; pollution; gas tanks; desalination plant