Impact story of the year

Impact

Action has been taken at the highest level of government. OSHA conducted a six-month review that led to the highest penalty in recent memory. The county’s environmental commission proposed a fine that is its largest in history. Citing our series, a national public health organization, meanwhile, called for changes to federal rules to make workplaces nationwide safer for workers.

Poisoned

Times reporters knocked on the door of a lead factory worker’s home in Pasco County. When they announced why they were there, the wife of the factory worker, and the mother of a lead-poisoned child, burst into tears. Finally, someone cared to hear their story. For the next 18 months, the reporters worked meticulously. They interviewed dozens of current and former workers. They amassed thousands of pages of medical files. They became experts in the science, even earning certifications as lead inspectors. And they manually built databases from internal documents that showed that hundreds of Gopher Resource workers had been exposed to extreme amounts of lead.

The impact has been resounding. After not inspecting the plant for five years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived, confirmed our findings, ordered repairs and issued a fine. In early 2022, the county proposed more than $500,000 in additional fines. The county offered free lead screening to members of the community. And the company has attempted to fix some of its more glaring issues.