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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2002
2002 OAKES AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM GOES TO MOBILE REGISTER FOR SERIES ON MERCURY IN FISH
Oakes Award Committee of Judges Releases Its List of Top Environmental Stories in Print, 2001-2002
NEW YORK — The ninth annual John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, and its $5,000 prize, will be awarded to Ben Raines of the Mobile Register for an extended series on methylmercury contamination in the nation’s seafood supply. The judges evaluated installments of the series that ran from November 2001 through August 2002 (during the award’s eligibility period). The first article in the series appeared in July 2001, and the investigation continues today.
“Ben Raines exposed the fact that federal and state government had failed to test the fish or warn the public,” said Joan Konner, chair of the Oakes Award Committee of Judges. “The Register itself paid for tests that showed ‘safe’ fish were actually highly contaminated and regular seafood eaters had dangerous levels of mercury in their bodies.” Although the series focuses on mercury in seafood caught in the Gulf of Mexico, including swordfish, tuna, black grouper, and many other species, fish from the gulf are sold all over the country. Moreover, mercury contamination is a problem throughout U.S. coastal waters. The series shed new light on the sources of the contamination, especially offshore oil and gas rigs—which, like coal-fired power plants, another major source, are widespread.
The committee of judges awarded second place to Gary Gerhadt, Todd Hartman, and Lou Kilzer of the Rocky Mountain News for “Killer in the Herds,” an analysis of the spread of chronic wasting disease in elk herds and the ranching practices that may have helped to promote it. There is no monetary prize awarded for second place.
For the first time this year, the Oakes Award Committee of Judges also released its list of the top environmental stories published in 2001-2002. (The Oakes Award eligibility period is October 1 through September 30.)
 Download the full press release.
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