1. Provide the title of your story or series and the names of the journalists involved.
Toxic Towns
Host: Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Senior Executive Producer: Roni Selig
Executive Producer: David S. Martin
Senior Managing Editor: Tim Langmaid
Senior Producer: Caleb Hellerman
Producers: John Bonifield, Saundra Young Tapes Producer: Steven Keller
Field Producers: Mark Biello, Tim Wall, Jeremy Harlan
Associate Producer: William Hudson
Original Music: David Steinberg
Senior Editor: Steven Keller
Production Designers: Jodie Hutchens, John Courembis, Eduardo Alvarez, Rob Wright
Audio Designer: Rick Sierra
2. List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Airdate: June 2, 2010
3. Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Toxic Towns, USA follows Dorothy Felix and her fight for environmental justice in Mossville, a once-rural African-American community now surrounded by chemical plants. After Dr. Sanjay Gupta began his investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed for the first time to see whether Mossville qualifies as a Superfund site. Portions of Toxic Towns, USA, are being used as evidence in a case brought by Mossville in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the hour-long documentary is now part of the curriculum in several university classes teaching courses on race and environmental justice. Since the program aired, the Senate invited Dr. Gupta to testify on environmental chemicals and health.
4. Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
CNN used environmental records on file with the state of Louisiana (but never published or broadcast), industry documents discovered during legal proceedings, pollution data from the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory, EPA photographs, video and photographs from the National Archives, historical satellite photographs, newspaper clips, personal photographs, archival photographs from university collections. FOIA was not needed
5. Explain types of human sources used.
CNN used four types of human sources: the people of Mossville; scientists and whistleblowers; government officials, including EPA administrator Lisa Jackson; and company and industry representatives.
6. Results (if any).
After Dr. Sanjay Gupta and CNN began this investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed for the first time to see whether Mossville qualifies as a Superfund site. Portions of Toxic Towns, USA, are being used as evidence in a case brought by Mossville in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the hour-long documentary is now part of the curriculum in several university classes teaching courses on race and environmental justice. Since the program aired, the Senate invited Dr. Gupta to testify on environmental chemicals and health
7. Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No one has challenged the accuracy.
8. Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Two things: a) Recognize absolute proof is impossible and b) Let industry have its say. a) Proving environmental pollution caused health problems is impossible. The best you can do is present a mountain of evidence combining documents and data with personal experiences and testimony from experts to build a methodical case. b) In many ways, the casual dismissal of Mossville residents' claims by company and industry groups strengthened the argument the residents' health concerns had been ignored or downplayed for years.