The USC Annenberg Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism recipient Janet Wilson used human testing to measure a Los Angeles family's exposure to harmful metals and industry byproducts. She wanted to illustrate the impact these chemicals have on real people for readers, something uncommon in journalism. "I always looked for ways to attach human faces to the statistics and was frustrated that federal law, ethical concerns, and what sometimes seemed like self-protection kept doctors, regulators, and academics from helping me find people with health conditions linked to chemical exposure," said Wilson in an essay reflecting on her work. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention randomly samples people for chemicals linked to diseases and disabilities, but experts think Americans living near industry developments have been ignored. Wilson commissioned tests for the Martin family, who live 10 minutes from downtown Los Angeles near hot dog, pesticide and patio furniture factories and freight rail yards filled with trucks. They have experienced illnesses from skin rashes to ovarian cysts for years, and now they are ready for answers. "The Martin family had traces of eight dangerous heavy metals and 17 industrial byproducts in their bodies," Wilson said. "Levels of arsenic, chromium, mercury, manganese and vanadium were far higher than for most Americans." Even with these shocking results, there is little hope for change. The family cannot afford housing elsewhere and most American doctors lack adequate training in environmental health issues. Read the full article here.