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 "mesothelioma" ...
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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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After dust settles, workers pay with their lives
The reporters investigated genuine concerns over the effect of asbestos exposure at a now defunct factory that produced asbestos cement pipe. Of the fewer than 300 workers that worked there over the factory's existence, 11 died of mesothelioma, five of lung cancer, and eight more died after suffering with severe asbestosis. Most died in their 50's or early 60's. At least 4 more are fighting for their lives and dozens more are suffering with asbestosis. Alabama state laws require workers seeking compensation to file their claims within two years of exposure,although asbestosis usually takes several years to show up. Reporters also examined the problems of workers at other companies that protected themselves by declaring bankruptcy or moving out of state, leaving the victims with little hope of legal redress.
Tags: asbestos; legal liability; acute respiratory illness; Capco; cement-asbestos pipe; mesothelioma; libel; FOIA; industrial safety; health
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Madison County: Where Asbestos Rules
The Post-Dispatch investigates the area of personal injury litigation, more specifically the boom of asbestos cases in Madison County. Asbestos litigation has become a billion-dollar industry which keeps lawyers, judges, juries, and plaintiffs in big business. The article focuses on Randall Bono, the supposed "king of asbestos litigation," and the major Democratic power he has in the court system.
Tags: Randall Bono; personal injury litigation; SimmonsCooper; mesothelioma
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How Plaintiffs' Lawyers Have Turned Asbestos Into A Court Perennial
The Wall Street Journal looks at attorney Mark Lanier, who has helped to expanded litigation in asbestos lawsuits since many of the asbestos companies are now bankrupt. "The U.S. Supreme Court has called asbestos litigation an 'elephantine mass' that defies the normal rules of judicial administration," the Journal reported.
Tags: asbestos; Mark Lanier; Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.; mesothelioma; litigation
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The Virus and the Vaccine
The Atlantic Monthly investigates the claim that a simian monkey virus known as SV40 may cause mesothelioma, a rare but pernicious form of cancer. From 1955 to 1963, the polio vaccine was mass produced using monkey kidneys and thus was contaminated with SV40. According to the magazine's investigation, "the presence of SV40 in human tumors has been reported on in more than forty independent research papers" but federal health officials, who cite two studies to the contrary, believe the positive results were caused by laboratory contamination.