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 "water damage" ...
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Soldiers At Risk: Iraq Water Investigation
With temperatures rising up to “130 degrees or more” a day, why would the military be rationing water to only 2 liters a day per person? The answer is a water shortage. As a result, some soldiers are reporting from “serious physical problems with their kidneys, nerve degeneration, and even serious brain damage”. Further, some of these conditions went on for up to a year.
Tags: Iraq; Wars; medical professionals; officers; Army; Veterans Administration; defenders; troops
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Toxic Waters
With the aid of more than 500 Freedom of Information requests, reporter Charles Duhigg uncovered major problems with the nation's Clean Water Act. He found that out of the many "chemical plants" and "large manufacturers" who broke water pollution laws over the past several years, few were punished or even fined. He also found that millions of U.S. residents "have been exposed" to water that could be damaging to their health.
Tags: Clean Water Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; E.P.A.; toxic waste; atrazine; pollution
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Flood Threat
The authors found that 30,000 homes in San Joaquin County, CA were built in areas prone to flooding. Furthermore, the levees protecting the homes are unstable and insufficient.
Tags: flooding; water damage; GIS; FEMA; mapping; Army Corp of Engineers
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Why Roofs Failed: Lessons of Two Hurricanes
Following the four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004, this investigative team probed into why damage to homes was so significant despite seemingly high building codes. Politicians took 10 years to enact these stricter codes, meaning all homes built within that period were inadequately prepared for hurricanes. The most common type of damage was that done to roofs. This investigation found roofing tiles were not fit for Florida housetops. A flaw existed even in the brand new building codes: inland homes were not held to the same standards as those on the coast. However, these 2004 hurricanes proved damage was comparable no matter how close homes were to the water.
Tags: hurricane; wind; rain; weather; damage; building code; home; house; roof; shingle
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Your Home. Our Sewage
This story uncovers the fact that thousands of Hamilton County residents were dealing with basements that were flooded with storm water and raw sewage following rainstorms. Many homeowners did not report it because of the fear that it might affect the future sale of their homes. However, of the residents who did report the problem, were faced with the fact that no one would accept the responsibility of fixing it. The Metropolitan Sewer District claimed that the responsibility for repairs belonged to the cities. Meanwhile, the cities were claiming that the repair should be done by the Metropolitan Sewer District according to a 1968 contract. After a number of county commission hearings following WCPO's investigation, the MSD finally assumed full responsibility for the repairs.
Tags: basement flooding; sewer damage; Metropolitan Sewer District
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The Mining of the West
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on how the 1872 General Mining Law has allowed multinational companies to take billions in gold and other precious metals from public lands in the West. "They are grinding mountains into rubble, dousing the piles of rock with cyanide, paying no royalties into federal coffers for the privilege, and often leaving behind scarred land, tainted water and huge cleanup bills," the stories reveal. The findings include that more than 16,000 miles of waterways have been polluted across the West, and that environmental damage on federal lands would cost $72 billion to fix. The formidable lobbying power of the mining industry has so far prevented the lawmakers from amending the antiquated law.
Tags: EPA Toxic Release Inventory; environmental protection; engineering; U.S. Forest Service; lobbying; money and politics
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A Flood of Problems
A Columbia Missourian investigation reveals the neglect of local city and county officials in planning and handling storm water floods amidst new development. Boone County and city of Columbia systems for handling planning subdivisions place "little emphasis on storm water's potential to cause flooding or damage water quality."
Tags: storm water; urban sprawl; subdivisions; planning and zoning; Columbia; Boone County; water quality; growth; urbanization; development
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The Trouble With Dams
More than 100,000 dams regulate American rivers and creeks, Atlantic Monthly reports. But the progress which dams epitomized has been called into question by experts. Making rivers navigable for barges costs taxpayers millions in subsidies, which often benefits the largest companies the most. Lobbyists have kept these subsidies high. Damage is also done by flooding that occurs as a result of dams. The environment suffers many different kinds of reactions. "If water policy gets dragged kicking and screaming into the age of limits, we'll probably find we have more than enough water to go around," the magazine reports.
Tags: dams; environment; lobbyists; flood control
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The Right to Answers
The Riverfront Times reports on the contaminants found in Weldon Springs. Uranium deposits left from the 1940's have been linked to sicknesses in the area and an increasing number of infant deaths. The damage to this area started in 1941, when chemists were trying to find ways to refine uranium. "The radioactive waste eventually wound up at the Weldon Springs site." The Department of Energy has made efforts to clean up the area over the last twenty years, but they say it is impossible to pump the ground water and remove the toxins. "Instead they plan to inject chemicals to neutralize the worst. . . . The air, soil and surface water may not be perfect, but they're a damn sight cleaner than they were in '86." In addition, the article details Father Gerry Kleba and his congregation at Immaculate Conception, as they endure the deaths of more young children and unite to learn more about prevention.
Tags: radioactive waste; uranium; Department of Energy; pollutants; contamination; St. Charles County; Missouri Department of Health; National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences
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Fertile Waters
ABA Journal examines new law developments that favor plaintiffs in environmental lawsuits. The analysis finds that plaintiffs today can rely on "new scientific studies that provide better proof of the effect of some pollutants on human health" and "on new theories of liability, some of them based on strategies used in the recent tobacco litigation... - what defendants knew and when they knew it." The report sheds light on the most common "hurdles litigants face in this lawsuit. " The story profiles Judy Piatt, a horse farm owner, who lost her horses and was diagnosed with a rare disease, after a dust-abatement contractor sprayed hazardous waste over the horse show arena and then "walked away from virtually all liability." The author concludes that "if Piatt's damages had occurred today, she'd have a better chance of receiving compensation."
Tags: environment; plaintiffs; lawsuits; attorneys; tobacco; cigarette companies; hazardous waste; pollution; contaminants; courts