A Public Health Watch and Univision 45 collaboration exposing record-high levels of cancer-causing benzene in Channelview, Texas, won a regional Emmy award for investigative reporting on Saturday.
The Texas chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is one of the largest and most competitive in the country. The award highlights the importance of making investigative journalism accessible to Spanish-speaking communities.
Univision 45’s 10-minute report, “Bombarded by Benzene,” expanded on a 2024 Public Health Watch investigation based on previously uncovered data recorded in Channelview, a majority-Latino community outside Houston.
Public Health Watch reporter Savanna Strott found that scientists with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, documented levels of benzene nearly three times higher than the state guideline in 2021 but never told residents. She also discovered that the state’s stationary monitor was not positioned to capture emissions from a known benzene polluter.
Univision 45 reporter Ana Bueno adapted the investigation for Spanish-speaking audiences.
Long-term benzene exposure can cause leukemia and other blood cancers. The 2021 benzene emissions in Channelview were so intense that TCEQ scientists experienced headaches and had to leave the area twice.
Public Health Watch has reported on Channelview for more than two years. Fumed, a narrative podcast launched in March, details two residents’ efforts to save the community from industry encroachment. The podcast won bronze in the Barlett and Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism last month.