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 "radioactive waste" ...
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Radioactive Waste Leaking into Ground Water
The Asbury Park Press found that millions of gallons of radioactive water have leaked from nuclear power plants in the U.S. since the 1970s, threatening water supplies in New Jersey and other states. But the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has never fined a violator. The Press also found that major leaks have increased in recent years, nearly all nuclear power plants have leaked radioactive titrium, most plants hvae had more than one titrium leak, and esseentially all plants have leaked or spilled radioactive material.
Tags: radioactive waste; power plant; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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Recycled Radiation
Radioactive materials are being found in common consumer items because radioactive devices used in manufacturing and medicine are often mixing with scrap metal for use in large varieties of other products. "Recycled Radiation" outlines the findings from the Nuclear Material Events Database.
Tags: radioactive; material; products; consumers; scrap; metal; recycled; exposure; manufacturing; medicine; Mexico; transport; oversight; disposal; waste;
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Radioactive Dumping
"Tennessee, for nearly 20 years, had been allowing low level radioactive waste to be disposed of in 5 ordinary trash landfills, strategically located throughout the state without public knowledge, with out a public hearing and in violation of NRC regulations."
Tags: radioactive waste; trash dumps; landfills;
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What the atomic age left behind
This series described a 10.5-million-ton pile of nuclear waste polluting the Colorado River. The waste was left over from decades of milling uranium ore, first for atomic weapons and later for nuclear fuel. For decades, the pile of toxic and radioactive waste leaked into the river, which provides the drinking water for more than 20 million people in three western states. It was the largest of the dozens of piles of tailings and the only one that hadn't been moved away from major rivers in the United States. And for a while, it appeared it would stay put, contaminating the river for centuries.
Tags: water pollution; Colorado River; nuclear waste; atomic weapon; nuclear fuel; radioactive waste; drinking water; water contamination
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Radioactive Water Flowed to Thousands of Homes
This series detailed how high levels of radium 226/228, known human carcinogens linked to bone and nasal cancers, contaminated public drinking water wells that provided water to thousands of people in Northwest Florida between 1996-2000. The public utility responsible for water safety resisted state efforts to clean the radioactive material and inform the public, because it cost too much money. The Utilities Authority conducted tapwater samples that measured high concentrations of radium coming out of fountains at an elementary school, regional airport, government offices, and the tourist welcome center, but the results of these samples were never made public.
Tags: radium; human carcinogens; bone cancer; nasal cancer; contaminated drinking water wells; radioactive material; Escambia County Utilities Authority; drinking water; Agrico Chemical Co. Superfund hazardous waste; U.S. Florida Department of Environmental protection; radium-tainted water; Escambia County Health Department; Pensacola Regional Airport; Santa Rosa Island Authority; Cordova Park Elementary School; Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water; American Agricultural Chemical Co.; U.S. Geological Survey; maximum contamination level; MCL; Northwest Florida Management District; water cleanup; Environmental Protection Agency; "limited action" cleanup DuPont; ConocoPhillips; Conoco Inc.; The Williams Co.; Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
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Raising Hell at Hanford
Nuclear-waste tanks leaking into the ground close to the Columbia River contaminated ground water beneath a fifth of Hanford's 560 square miles. Pacific Northwest Magazine investigates whether there is an imminent danger for people, fish and crops. The report says that "some scientist say there is a huge uncertainty" on whether the "most expensive environmental cleanup on the planet will be effective.
Tags: nuclear-waste; cleanup; contamination; radioactive clouds; Energy Department; poison; toxic; cancer; Tri-Cities; Columbia River
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Making White Elephants Fly
The American Prospect reports that "aging nuclear power plants are going on the auction block -- with yet another big dose of consumer subsidy." The story sheds light on the privatization of nuclear plants at "clearance prices" in the era of energy deregulation. Enormous capital costs have made nuclear power expensive and uncompetitive.
Tags: competition; public utilities; environment; radioactive waste; pollution; safety
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Caution, Nuclear Waste Ahead
This article looks at legislation in Congress that would have nuclear power plants across the country send their waste to sites in Nevada and the danger of transporting the highly hazardous waste on public roads and train tracks. The two main dangers are radiation exposure to nearby drivers and the risk of an accident. A huge hike in shipments could make the possibility of a disaster more likely.
Tags: nuclear waste; legislation; nuclear industry; Nevada Test Site; radioactive material; nuclear fuel; Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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Fallout
SF Weekly reports on the Hunters Point Shipyard, which is being turned over to the city of San Francisco in 2002. The shipyard used to house the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, which handled -- or mishandled, as SF Weekly discovered -- "nearly every kind of radioactive material known to man." The investigation found that tons of radioactive materials had been dumped into San Francisco Bay, radioactive fuel had been burned, discharging its smoke into the atmosphere, radioactive scrap metal was sold to private companies and unsuitable radioactive containers were dumped at a site 30 miles from the city. At the time the series was published the Navy had promised to release a study of the site, but had not. Following the first two parts, the third part of Davis' "Fallout" series on radiological materials buried at Hunters Point, the San Francisco Navy shipyard. This installment shows that a supposedly exhaustive 634-page Navy report fails to tell the real history of radiation at the shipyard.
Tags: CD-ROM; U.S. Navy; Hunters Point Shipyard; Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory; radioactive dumping; pollution; hazardous waste; nuclear experiments; toxic materials; environment; clean-up San Francisco bay; veterans; Cold War
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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