Since 2009, InvestigateWest’s journalism has directly led to a healthier, safer and more transparent Pacific Northwest, including two first-in-the-nation state laws to protect the environment and workers’ health.
What you’ll find below is a sampling of the ways that our journalism organization has made an impact.
Exhausted at School
Our investigation into toxic road pollution and its effects on children’s health at school found nearly 30 public schools and more than 120 day cares within 500 feet of major roads in Washington, where health researchers say traffic pollution can aggravate asthma, increase absenteeism, and harm developing immune systems. The series prompted Seattle Schools to begin notifying all principals of unhealthy air days and advise them to keep children indoors for recess. The district also announced new plans to upgrade a decades-old ventilation system at John Marshall Junior High to better protect student health. Using InvestigateWest’s reporting and methodology, newsrooms in San Diego and Ohio replicated our story, finding dozens of schools in the danger zone and equally lax oversight about where facilities get built.