Public Health Watch

In 2023, Public Health Watch published investigative stories that prompted legislation, community action, editorials and other positive developments. Our journalism garnered national and regional awards. Among the highlights:- an investigative series, "toxic Texas air," found that state environmental regulators knew about, but failed to stop, high benzene emissions in the majority-latino community of channelview, Texas, for nearly two decades. A state senator promised to draft legislation to hold Texas regulators accountable. - a project on the 10 states that have refused to expand medicaid "the holdouts" examined the human costs of failing to widen the program nearly a decade after the affordable care act took effect. We partnered with media outlets and a data team in hold-out states on the coverage. The project uncovered new evidence that expansion can save lives whether it's those struggling with diabetes or opioid addiction.- working with two researchers, Public Health Watch analyzed the deadly toll of fine-particle pollution in Texas and found that 8,405 residents had died from exposure to particulates in 2016. An interactive map traced the number and rate of deaths by county and neighborhood across the state.- a joint investigation with phw, louisville Public media and mountain state spotlight exposed serious gaps in a new federal plan to reduce miners' exposure to silica dust, which causes deadly black lung disease. The coverage prompted regulators to toughen their approach.- an in-depth story examined how a stretch of south Texas is wrestling with a crisis the rest of the nation could someday face: an increase in cases of alzheimer's and other dementias, particularly among latinos.- in a two-part series, Public Health Watch and the Texas tribune reported that the epa and Texas repeatedly documented but did little to address problems at a houston-area tank farm before a disastrous fire struck in march 2019. The fire released toxic chemicals into nearby communities for weeks.- phw uncovered records and data to depict how various industries are fighting to keep the epa from approving tighter controls of manganese in drinking water despite research that shows high levels can harm children. Our national map traced manganese levels in Public water systems across the country.