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 "laboratory" ...
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What's on the Menu?
Eight stations in the E.W. Scripps Television station Group worked together to investigate claims by national restaurant chains about low-fat and low-calorie menu items. The group specifically gathered menus from restaurants who listed the fat and/or calorie content directly on their menus, and decided to have the food tested at Analytical Laboratories, Inc. in Boise, Idaho. They created an excel spreadsheet and assigned each station three foods listed on various low-fat/low-calorie menus on the same way. The stations each packed their food the exact same way and videotaped this procedure to verify protocol. The packages were then sent overnight to Analytical Laboratories, Inc. for testing. The test results showed that out of the 23 items tested, 78% were over the fat limit and almost 69% were over the calorie limit listed on the package. A producer from KNXV-TV then contacted all the restaurants involved in the test and asked for a response. No company would go on camera for the story, though the company that owns Chili's and Macaroni Grill apologized and said they would work to reinforce the menu standards.
Tags: food; nutrition; low-fat; low-calorie; Ohio; false advertising
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Scientists Gone Wild
Never before has America been shown such a wild and wasteful side of government scientists. This CBS Evening News exclusive exposed the partying and waste going on at taxpayer expense at some scientific conferences sponsored by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
Tags: taxpayer funds; Inspector General Reports; audits; science funding; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; budget; costs; wasteful spending; government spending
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The Taser Test
No authorities properly tested Tasers in Canada, so CBC/Radio-Canada undertook what became the largest independent testing of Tasers ever. National Technical Services tested the Tasers and found more than 10 percent of the those tested were either defective or significantly off specifications.
Tags: Taser; stun gun; police; laboratory; testing; weapon; Taser International
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Lead in Dental Work
"WBNS-TV spent the past year probing into the presence of toxic lead in dental work such as crown, bridges and dentures. The team discovered a lack of state and federal regulation in the dental laboratory industry, an industry largely overlooked and unknown to the consumer until WBNS-TV broke the story in February 2008. An increasing number of laboratories outsource dental work to other companies. The FDA doesn't track the materials in foreign or domestic dental work. The lack of oversight results in patient risk.
Tags: lead poisoning; dental work; dentistry; regulations; infection; foreign production
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Undetected Danger
Four brands of carbon monoxide alarms have been recalled since 1999, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Research published in 2002 claimed six of 10 brands performed inconsistently, while only three met the standards set by Underwriters Laboratories, the certification firm that ensures their reliability.
Tags: poison; detection; smoke alarm; bullfrog; marina; gas;
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Plagued By Fear
Dr. Thomas Butler, a plague researcher who "had treated the Black Death's bloated victims in the Third World," was accused of stealing vials of the plague that disappeared from laboratories where he was doing research in the United States, setting off a federal investigation and a trial. Mangels tells Butler's story in seven parts, detailing lax lab security, the trial and Butler's attempt to rebuild his life.
Tags: Yersinia pestis; Black Plague; Thomas Butler; polygraph; lie detector; Texas tech University; research lab security
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Beyond the Breach
Using accident reports from the Army's top biodefense laboratory as well as a report on a 2002 incident involving the discovery of Anthrax spores near laboratories, the News-Post found that while the Army had made efforts to improve safety, accidents attributable to negligence and carelessness still occurred. The investigation focuses on the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Tags: U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases; U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command; ebola; anthrax; infectious diseases; safety, health
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Clipped Wings
White House appointees at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were found to be limiting the flow of scientific information which has to do with potentially dangerous and growing human influence on the climate.
Tags: NASA; conservative; religion; Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Mars; moon
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Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids scandal that Rocked Professional Sports
San Francisco Chronicle reporters broke the story that some elite athletes used drugs to "run faster, hit harder, and cash in on the fame that comes only to those at the very top of their games." Fainaru-Wada and Williams used"Federal Grand Jury transcripts and federal investigative reports... court records and state health department records," among other documents. (332 pages)
Tags: steroids; drugs; BALCO; Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative; San Francisco Chronicle; Victor Conte; Major League Baseball; football; track and field; California Public Records Act; Federal Grand Jury; sports agents; trainers; sports doping; Olympics; Justice Department; IRS; U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; USADA
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Betrayed
A former health inspector and environmental health specialist is now permanently disabled because of his exposure to toxic mold at his workplace, the Southern Nevada Health District's Environmental Health Wing, and he's not the only worker affected. Although his employer knew the problem existed (and was serious, as they are the agency that investigates and shuts down mold-infected sites) they fought correcting the situation, refused to re-locate infected workers, and contested their disability claims.
Tags: Mold; Air quality; Southern Nevada Health District; Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies at UNLV; rashes; Keck School of Medicine Environmental Sciences Laboratory at USC; Public Employees Retirement System of Nevada; U.S. Department of Labor Family and Medical Leave Act; Dan Pauluk; Apergillus; Stachybotrys; Yellow Rain; Aflatoxin; Saddam Hussein; Biological Weapons