What happens after you report a safety tip

A tip to IronGate Safety Watch goes to editors, not to a regulator. This page explains each step, and what we can and cannot do.

1. Your tip is received. You see a reference number on screen. Keep it. It is the only way to refer to your tip later.
2. It is stored in a confidential queue. Tips are held in a separate, restricted database. They are not mixed with inquiries, and they are not available to sales, marketing, membership, the Foundation or general-purpose AI tools.
3. A person reads it. Only an authorized administrator can open a tip. The free-text description is read by a person; it is not sent to an AI assistant. Each time a tip is opened, the access is recorded.
4. It is treated as a lead, not a fact. Nothing is published from a tip alone. The Safety Watch desk checks whether the claim can be confirmed against public records, such as OSHA inspection data and agency documents, and confirms the facility and company identity.
5. The company is given a chance to respond. Before any story about a named company is published, the company is asked to comment, with a deadline. Its response is published in full beside the story.
6. An editor decides whether anything is published. Many tips will not become stories. We cannot promise that a tip will be investigated, published, or answered.
7. Your information is kept for a limited time. A person reviews every tip at 90 days. It is then deleted unless there is a documented reason to keep it. See the privacy notice.

Follow-up

We contact you only if you gave contact details and checked the box that allows it. We may not be able to reply to every tip. We will not use your name in a story unless you separately gave permission.

Submit a safety tip