Wellington, May 23 NZPA - A group of Massey University journalism students who spent three months investigating a potential health risk from contamination at a former Masterton gasworks have won a new journalism award for their work.

The six students -- Amanda Fisher, Michael Hasumi-Dickison, Motoko Kakubayashi, Chloe Vaughan, Rory MacKinnon and Sarah Taane -- broke the news that local residents had not been informed of toxin levels on the old gasworks site, and that the local council had failed to follow up on advice given years earlier to remedy the situation.

Their three stories, including a front page lead in the Wairarapa Times-Age in October, won them the inaugural Bruce Jesson Emerging Journalism Prize.

The award was given by the Bruce Jesson Foundation, which was established in 1999 to commemorate the late political journalist Bruce Jesson.