EHN reporter wins Golden Quill awards for reporting on petrochemicals and PFAS

Kristina Marusic was presented with two awards for her coverage of the oil and gas and plastics industries in western Pennsylvania.

PITTSBURGH — On Tuesday, EHN reporter Kristina Marusic was presented two awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania for her reporting on toxic pollution caused by extractive industries in western Pennsylvania.

The Golden Quills competition honors excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in western Pennsylvania and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia. This was the 59th year for the annual awards, which were presented at an awards dinner in Pittsburgh on May 30.

Marusic's reporting on Shell's new plastics plant in western Pennsylvania and the oil and gas industry's use of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), submitted together under the headline, "Energy Justice and Environmental Health in Western Pennsylvania," won a first place prize in the science/environment non-daily written journalism category, and also received one of four Best in Show Ray Sprigle Memorial Awards.

Marusic has previously won Golden Quill awards for her reporting on the health impacts of air pollution and fracking in western Pennsylvania, including another Ray Sprigle Memorial Award in 2020 for "Prescription for Prevention," a series on cancer and the environment that ultimately led Marusic to write her recently-released book, "A New War On Cancer."

"It's an honor to have my work recognized through these awards," Marusic said. "I hope my reporting continues to make an impact in Western Pennsylvania."