{
  "id": "2006-may-june-endangered-data-helps-find-deadly-mercury",
  "slug": "2006-may-june-endangered-data-helps-find-deadly-mercury",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2006-may-june-endangered-data-helps-find-deadly-mercury.html",
  "year": 2006,
  "month": "May-June",
  "monthNum": 5,
  "headline": "Endangered data helps find deadly mercury",
  "kicker": "SPOTLIGHT: TOXIC LIVING",
  "author_name": "Ken Ward Jr.",
  "author_title": "Reporter",
  "affiliation": "The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette",
  "summary": "TRI data was used to investigate mercury pollution from chlor-alkali plants, revealing significant environmental concerns.",
  "keywords": [
    "TRI",
    "mercury",
    "pollution"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Health & Environment",
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Data & Databases"
  ],
  "technologies": [],
  "full_text": "At the annual computer-assisted reporting conferences and on the NICAR listserv, I always hear about how bad government data is. When the conversation steers toward the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory, the criticisms seem especially harsh. And they're probably mostly true. There are lots of problems with the TRI. But right now, the biggest problem is that we might lose it. The EPA is proposing major cutbacks, including a plan to make the now-annual data collection an every-other-year deal for the chemical industry and other manufacturers. I also know that some of the best stories I do are based in some way on TRI, or at least use some nugget from the TRI for that crucial 'computer-assisted paragraph' that makes the story solid. TRI is still the best basic set of pollution numbers we have. With that in mind, here's how TRI helped me turn what could have been a boring daily story from a news release into a more meaningful Sunday and Monday package of stories...",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "pre-v2",
    "extracted_at": "",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1991-december-tri-working-guide-still-available",
      "score": 0.259
    },
    {
      "slug": "2004-september-october-pollution-beat-book",
      "score": 0.206
    },
    {
      "slug": "1991-october-tri-working-guide-available-at-micar",
      "score": 0.193
    },
    {
      "slug": "1991-may-tri-working-guide-news",
      "score": 0.187
    },
    {
      "slug": "1990-november-ohios-toxic-avenger",
      "score": 0.161
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2006-may-june-endangered-data-helps-find-deadly-mercury.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/2006-may-june-endangered-data-helps-find-deadly-mercury.json"
}