After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, oil companies assured America accidents like that would never happen again.

But another accident did happen. On October 13, 2004, roughly 1,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the Puget Sound estuary, near Tacoma, Washington. The spill blackened the beaches and waters, threatening aquatic plants, seabirds and fish. Unlike the Exxon Valdez spill, it was not clear who caused the spill and nobody claimed responsibility for the accident.

Enter veteran journalist Eric Nalder. On March 22, 2005, the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER published the first article in a series detailing the safety concerns of oil tankers belonging to the international energy corporation, ConocoPhillips. Although ConocoPhillips denied responsibility, the Coast Guard had traced the oil to a tanker owned by ConocoPhillips’ subsidiary Polar Tankers as early as December 2004. Nalder’s reporting revealed systemic problems within the company that were undermining the very safety reforms implemented in direct response to the Exxon Valdez spill. Safety concerns included requiring crews to work long hours, ignoring possible alcohol abuse by crew members, and company efforts to diminish tug escort requirements in Washington State waters. Moreover, Nalder found evidence alleging that crewmembers aboard another Polar tanker had participated in an oil-spill cover-up.

In EXPOSÉ's "A Sea of Trouble," Nalder's doggedness and trademarked interview techniques help shed light on a murky situation.

>> Watch "A Sea of Trouble" online.

>> Read Nalder's original series in the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER.

Tag(s): ConocoPhillips , Eric Nalder , Exxon Valdez , environment , interviewing , oil
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When she wasn't analyzing air samples, HOUSTON CHRONICLE reporter Dina Cappiello was investigating another environmental crisis: the Dead Zone. It's a giant swath of ocean in the Gulf of Mexico where oxygen drops so low that it is unable to support some marine life. The Dead Zone forms each summer due to the fertilizer and wastewater runoff that makes its way to the Gulf via North America's rivers. The nutrient overload causes an excessive algae bloom -- when the algae die and decompose, they use up all the oxygen in a particular area. All oxygen-breathing marine life in the zone must flee or die. The Dead Zone changes each year, but can be as large as the state of New Jersey. There are other dead zones around the world.

Cappiello spent a week aboard a research vessel with scientists on the hunt for the Dead Zone. Read her blogs from the journey here.

Tag(s): Dina Cappiello , dead zone , environment , pollution
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Reporter Dina Cappiello found shockingly high levels of toxic air pollutants in neighborhoods around Houston and Southeast Texas. According to the American Lung Association, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Bakersfield, and Birmingham also rank among the cities with the most air pollution.

Which cities have the cleanest air? Cheyenne, Wyoming tops the list, followed by Santa Fe, New Mexico; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Great Falls, Montana.

>> Worried about your town? Find out if the EPA is tracking toxic releases in your zip code. Check out the Air Quality Index for local air quality conditions and forecasts.

Tag(s): environment , health , pollution
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In a city built on oil and industry money, Houstonians have a name for the odor that emanates from its numerous industrial facilities: “the smell of money.” But for some residents, it also marks a dangerous public health threat: high levels of toxic air pollutants that have been linked to cancer, kidney and liver damage, as well as respiratory illnesses. In one neighborhood, levels of the carcinogen benzene were so high that one scientist said living there would be like "sitting in traffic 24-7."

Following her nose, HOUSTON CHRONICLE reporter Dina Cappiello sought to prove definitively that, despite industry denials, the neighborhoods around refineries and petrochemical plants suffer from the smokestacks that release these chemicals in their midst. With help from neighborhood residents, she planted air pollution sensors around some of Houston’s worst polluters, documenting the public health menace of air toxins as well as the ineptitude of the state regulators charged with protecting the public from these very threats.

This week, EXPOSÉ premieres "The Scientific Method" online with the shocking results of the CHRONICLE’s investigation.

>> Read Dina Cappiello's original reports in the HOUSTON CHRONICLE.

>> What are the nation's most polluted cities? Which cities have the cleanest air? Check back tomorrow on the Blog to find out.

Tag(s): Dina Cappiello , environment , health , pollution , texas
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Tomorrow on the EXPOSÉ site: With a smell in the air, residue on their cars, and their eyes occasionally burning, residents of Houston's "fenceline" communities - those that border many of the cities petrochemical plants - have often wondered what it was they were breathing. And when HOUSTON CHRONICLE environmental reporter Dina Cappiello knocked on their door, they were about to find out.

>> Watch the full episode of "The Scientific Method" on the EXPOSÉ site tomorrow.

Tag(s): Dina Cappiello , environment , health , pollution , texas
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