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 "worker accidents" ...
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The Mine Disaster
Following a mining accident that killed 29 workers in West Virginia, the Gazette examines the safety record of the mine and the failure of the oversight agencies to prevent similar accidents. The investigation revealed that the reforms put into place in 2006 had not done enough to prevent an accident from occurring.
Tags: mining; mining accident; safety; mine safety; occupational safety
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3F Members Die Prematurely
The story investigated the death records of all members of the union 3F (unskilled workers) and compared this mortality rate to standard mortality rates for the population as a whole. The aim was to see which union members had higher (or lower) mortality rates, and which causes of death were higher and lower compared to the population on the whole.
Tags: mortality; death rates; union workers; unskilled workers; 3F; mortality rates; lung cancer; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COPD; accidents; heart disease
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Las Vegas Construction Deaths
Workers had been dying at a rate of one every six weeks -- 12 deaths in 18 months -- until contractors made sweeping safety improvements after the Las Vegas Sun revealed that poor safety practices and lax oversight by state regulators had contributed to the fatalities. Before the story, construction safety had been a non-issue in Las Vegas. The deaths were considered the cost of doing business in a $32 billion building boom, the biggest in Las Vegas history. High-rise construction is dangerous, authorities said. Contractors and state regulators blamed many of the accidents on the dead workers themselves. This investigation found those arguments were "plainly wrong."
Tags: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Las Vegas; construction work; worker deaths; property; contractors; Nevada state regulations
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CR Investigates an Accident Waiting to Happen
This report found that more airlines than ever are outsourcing their major maintenance work, often to overseas facilities. This trend has several implications. The outsourcing and contracting means that workers are not screened as carefully as they were when airlines did their own maintenance. Also, flight data shows that airlines that outsource services tend to have more delays.
Tags: transportation; air travel; airports; delays; air safety
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Death in the Energy Fields
This story investigates the underreported fatalies and accidents in the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry is "it's own subculture, out of the mainstream; it operates in high rural areas; it's a hugely profitable industry that directly or indirectly controls communities and states, so questions are not raised and concerns are buried. And the victims - the workers and their next of kin - are not well equipped to stand up for worker safety."
Tags: worker safety; oil and gas industry; fatalities; unions; drilling; work accidents; worker-safety agencies
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BP Explosion: What Went Wrong
After the March 2005 BP refinery accident, the worst in over a decade, the Houston Chronicle investigated. A collection of problems were discovered that BP had not revealed. The deaths of 15 workers were due to BP not keeping to its own safety standards, or those of the industry.
Tags: BP; oil; refinery; accidents; safety standards
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Harvest of Death
The story investigated the disproportionately high number of auto fatalities and injuries caused by Hispanic drivers, most of them seasonal migrant workers, on Virginia's East Shore. Most of the accidents were alcohol related.
Tags: FOIA; seasonal migrant workers; driving under the influence; alcohol related accident; licence plate fraud; U.S. Route 13
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Violators: How they stack up
A Dayton Daily News computer analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Administration Records shows that from 1972 to 1990, Sparrows Point, a steel corporation, was inspected and cited 26 times in workers' deaths or serious-injury accidents. This is more than any other facility in the country. Employees say the company has put steel ahead of workers' lives. The records show the company violated government safety standards, failed to adequately train workers, and failed to at on employee complaints about hazards. This is part 2 of a 5 part series.
Tags: OSHA; Bethlehem Steel Facility; injury accidents; Occupational Safety and Health Administration Records; steel; hazards; safety practices; forklift; cranes; Sparrows Point; storage tank; carbon monoxide; OSHA violations; Armco Steel Corp; The Sorg Paper Co.; Dayton Walther Corp.; General Motors Corp.; Butler County Common Pleas Court; union; faulty breaks; steel corporations; amputations; burns; eye injury; concealing injuries
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Dying to work
This story looks at the high number of Mexican-born workers that get killed working in heavy industries. The story focuses on Mexican workers that have fatal accidents almost four times more as compared to American workers. As the reporters found out many of these deaths was mainly due to the fact the Mexicans did not speak English or did not go into treatment since they were illegally in the country.
Tags: Mexican immigrants; illegal immigrants; cheap labor; Mexican workers; OSHA; U.S. Department of Labor; worker death rates
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Frequent Faller
A woman widely reported as being trampled at a Florida Wal-Mart during a mad rush for cheap DVD players on the morning after Thanksgiving had made at least 15 prior claims of injuries from slip-and-falls, falling objects, heavy lifting or other accidents. This investigation--like the original story it was based on--received worldwide attention and cast a new light on what had been criticized as an example of capitalism.
Tags: TAPE; Wal Mart; Wal-Mart; slip-and-fall claim; claim; injury; unconscious; fake; fraud; trampling; trampled; worker's compensation; car accident; injured; hurt; medical record; pain.