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 "3M" ...
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Toxic Traces Revisted
The first story in the series shows that the Minnesota Dept. of Health knew about the contaminated drinking water in the Twin Cities almost a year before releasing the information to the public. The second story reported that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ignored the fact that perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in the soil near the 3M Company building were spilling into the Mississippi River and ground water. Last in the series, MPR News reported on how pressure from the public drove the investigation in regulating the flow of PFCs into the city's water.
Tags: contamination; Minneapolis; St. Paul; PFBA
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"Toxic Traces"
Minnesota Public Radio investigated the widespread environmental presence of chemicals once used to make Scotchguard. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was not very aggressive in pursuing the matter, an attitude that is possibly explained by the fact that the commissioner of the agency was at one time an environmental manager for 3M. MPR laid out for the public, both by broadcast and on-line, what was behind the conflicting agendas of the government, 3M and the public.
Tags: pollution; toxic waste; 3M; state government; clean water; whistleblower
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Wiped Out
BUSINESSWEEK tells the tale of how roughly 90 Proctor & Gamble workers were lured into quitting their jobs by the siren's call of a local stockbroker who promised them untold riches. Bill Gibbs, the stockbroker, convinced older workers to quit their jobs so he could gain control of their company-funded retirement accounts. As Gibbs' original investments began to falter, he sank his clients' portfolios heavily into tech and Internet stocks just as those sectors were peaking and about to begin devastating declines. Within a year, most of these workers saw their life savings wiped out.
Tags: A.G. Edwards; Procter & Gamble Co.; oil; health benefits; stockbroker; investing; life insurance; retirees; tech stocks; Internet stocks; portfolio; J.D. Power and Associates Inc.; First Union Brokerage; high yields; Dow Jones Industrial Average; Dow Dividend Strategy; Individual Retirement Account; Chevron; General Electric; General Motors; International Paper; 3M; high risk stocks; bankruptcy
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Bending the Rules
The National Law Journal reports on Clinton administration's project XL - shorthand for "excellence" and " leadership" - which rewards good corporate citizenship. Companies get year of relief from costly regulatory scrutiny, if they prove they can handle hazardous waste, plant more cleanly and take better care of their employees by using procedures different that those set out under the federal law. The project has raised concerns among environmentalists who find that the corporations granted the regulatory break may easily violate environmental laws, the Journal reports. Intel, Anheuser-Busch and 3M are among the few who received the opportunity to break federal laws.
Tags: EPA; politics; pollution; public health; safety; welfare; regulation; Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); workplace inspections; worker safety
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Secret Justice
ABA Journal investigates how undisclosed settlements to lawsuits and closed-door proceedings shut out public scrutiny. The article finds that this practice reduces accountability and eliminates precedents. The author points to several examples of sealed court files, some of which involving giant corporations and movie stars. The major example is about a reporter, Kristen Mitchell with the Wilmington, N.C., Morning Star, who was fined for obtaining a sealed file inadvertently handed her by a court clerk. The file contained information on a secret settlement of an environmental lawsuit between Conoco Inc. and residents of a mobile home park. The newspaper, also, was ordered to pay Conoco $500,000, the journal reports.
Tags: media rights; legislation; Merrill Lynch; First Amendment; freedom of the press; judges; lawyers; settlement agreements; Sondra Locke; Clint Eastwood; 3M; jurors; business
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3M's Big Cleanup
Business Week reports on 3M's voluntary phase out of a chemical component in Scotchguard that was found in blood drawn from people living all across America. While the 3M claimed that it posed to health risk in humans, animals administered high doses died.
Tags: 3M; perfluorooctane sulfonate; PFOS; Environmental Protection Agency
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No title (id: 4230)
Indianapolis News series looks at 3M Corp. and how it received sweetheart deals from Indiana officials for its reflective tape and paint after being generous with entertainment dollars; reporters find other companies produced the same materials for less but were excluded from the bidding process, March 4 - 7, 1986.
Tags: None