I’ve most currently worked as the lead investigative reporter at WLOS ABC News 13 in Asheville, North Carolina. Previously, I’ve worked as an investigative reporter for the following Florida stations: WFTS ABC Action News in Tampa, WFTX and WBBH, both in Fort Myers. I also worked as a freelance investigative reporter at WPIX in New York City.
Throughout my career, I’ve earned 30 First Place Awards including: Alfred I. duPont, Emmys, Local & National Murrows, IRE Certificate, RTDNAC, SPJ, AP among others.
My investigations have sparked new laws and regulations including:
Stricter building/fire codes and electrical standards for public schools
Bill making vicious crimes against animals/pets a felony in Florida
An investigation detailing a shoddy 6 mile expressway in Tampa. It actually collapsed 5 months later, our investigations led to many new engineering regulations.
In Cuba I negotiated the release of a terminally ill woman so she could permanently join her family in Tampa. I was also first to report the identities of the terrorists who hijacked planes and struck the World Trade Center Towers on 9-11.
The following is a link to our 68 minute documentary, “Buried Secrets”. We expose how EPA officials knew residents’ drinking water was contaminated for 23 years but failed to notify anyone.
My Reporting Reels and additional links are below:
Residents living near the CTS Superfund site protest after levels of the toxic chemical TCE are found at levels 830,000 times state limits. We exposed how the EPA knew about TCE in drinking water for 23 years before they admitted it to us on-camera, never once telling the residents.
The St. PetersburgTimes has written numerous articles about Mike Mason.
“Mike has been at the front of the pack” on the Crosstown story for more than a year. “He has made bold claims – bolstered by engineering reports and field notes – that Crosstown officials knew in advance of a sinkhole near a pier that collapsed in April. When WFTS hired Mason from WBBH-TV in Fort Myers in November 2001, he joined investigative reporter Robin Guess, making WFTS the only local station to have two full-time investigative reporters. A series on school safety violations in Lee County earned Mason the 2001 National Edward R. Murrow Award.”
Mike Mason exposes asbestos issues at Asheville’s VA Medical Center.
News 13 Investigation: We expose tons of damaged asbestos at the Asheville V-A, suspected of blowing throughout the hospital via air handlers. Workers fear for their safety and that of thousands of patients. Our findings seem to contradict what VA officials reported to OSHA last year and what we’ve since uncovered has sparked a new federal investigation. Part 2 airs tonight at 11pm. http://t.co/UpMcrOrFMO
2 Congressmen and 1 State Representative react to our investigation.
Asheville, N.C. – A month after News 13 airs an investigative report surrounding a toxic Superfund site in South Asheville, Federal officials are now considering launching a new criminal investigation. Meanwhile, lawmakers are also responding to that special report. Investigative reporter Mike Mason conducted a six month long investigation entitled, “Buried Secrets”, which exposed how EPA officials mishandled the toxic waste site for decades.
At the time, investigators with the EPA’s Inspector General had nearly finished their investigation into how EPA’s Region 4 office in Atlanta handled the CTS situation. After watching “Buried Secrets,” the Inspector General’s office told News 13 criminal investigators have begun reviewing the new evidence uncovered in the report.
Congressman Mark Meadows told News 13 via a satellite interview, “We need to make sure from a Government standpoint that we hold the EPA accountable, I’m committed to do that.” Congressman Patrick McHenry also stating, “Some of these issues that have come to light are of deep, deep concern.” State Representative Tim Moffitt openly voiced his concerns stating, “You cannot trust the EPA.”
News 13’s investigation exposed how the CTS Superfund site in South Asheville was mishandled for decades. The new evidence included how EPA documents were withheld or missing altogether and EPA officials knew drinking water was contaminated with toxic chemicals for nearly a decade before telling residents about it. Even though lawmakers have been aware of many of the problems plaguing the site, Meadows told News 13’s investigative reporter Mike Mason, “Your work and working to uncover that is certainly to be applauded.”
During News 13’s investigation, Mason obtained 63,000 pages of documents associated with the site. Many of them had never been released to the public before and contained new evidence supporting allegations made by activists and residents near the site. Armed with this information, News 13 confronted EPA officials who finally admitted to keeping the contamination silent for nine years. This past August, News 13 managed to track down the EPA’s Region 4 Superfund Director, Franklin Hill.
After Hill met with resident Dot Rice, who lives next to the CTS site and drank well water that was contaminated, Mason asked Hill, “I heard that you admitted that you tested on the Rice property in 1990?” Hill then responded, “I think the file indicates that there was a sample that was taken on the Rice’s property.” Mason pressed Hill asking, “And it was contaminated?” Hill admitted, “Yes.”
This was the first time in 23 years that EPA officials acknowledged testing on the Rice’s property and finding contamination back in 1990, even though activists, residents and lawmakers have been posing this question for years. Congressman McHenry was taken aback saying, “The EPA’s admitting that there were chemicals in the water, in the neighborhood, was a substantial revelation.”
But Hill would not elaborate as to why the EPA failed to notify the Rice’s who live closest to the site, or any other residents, about the contamination when the agency first learned about it. Meadows feels Congressional Hearings may be the only way to force EPA officials to testify and provide information about what happened. Meadows told us, “Having a hearing in Buncombe County or here in Washington D.C. is certainly something I will continue to advocate for. What I believe needs to come out is the full story, it is unfolding as we speak.” Congressman McHenry supports Meadows saying, “Those who have committed these acts have to be held accountable.” Representative Moffitt also supports hearings and stated, “The EPA is a broken agency and they have lost sight of what their responsibilities are.”
Since CTS left Asheville 27 years ago, the EPA has been monitoring the toxins in the soil, watching them inch their way towards the groundwater. Meanwhile, CTS has denied any responsibility but has recently agreed to pay for testing and the installation of whole house filtration systems to homes located within a one mile radius of the CTS site.
Three months ago the EPA kicked off a new round of testing to determine how to best clean up the site. EPA officials say the process could take another seven years to complete. Lawmakers, including Meadows, feel that’s far too long, “We need to make sure that we protect the people there in the area and that we do our best to get it cleaned up quickly, we’re going to continue to try to fast track that.”
Some say it’s already too late for that. The EPA has recently confirmed toxic chemicals such as TCE have already reached the groundwater some fifty feet below the surface. Moffitt criticizes the EPA’s inaction saying, “How much time do we need to study a toxic waste site to determine how toxic it is? It’s either toxic or it is not.” Meadows agrees saying, “The old excuses that it’s going to take a long time are not acceptable.”
Residents who live near the site say the contamination has caused them serious health problems. Dot Rice’s husband and granddaughter were both diagnosed with brain tumors in 1999. Rice says, “Our whole lives have been destroyed.” Activist Tate MacQueen adds, “They were betrayed to the core and it hurts. It hurts when you’ve been served this type of injustice and seemingly no one wants to come along and make it right, people can talk about it but again we want to see it.”
Congressman McHenry pledged, “We’re continuing to work on this issue because we know how critical it is, not just for Asheville but more deeply about those families who are affected by this.”
Democratic Representative Susan Fisher emailed News 13 to say she also supports the station’s efforts to uncover the truth. News 13 contacted the EPA’s top administrator, Gina McCarthy, but her office has not provided a comment. After contacting the White House’s press office, McCarthy’s press secretary agreed to review our report.
I’ve most currently worked as the lead investigative reporter at WLOS ABC News 13 in Asheville, North Carolina. Previously, I’ve worked as an investigative reporter for the following Florida stations: WFTS ABC Action News in Tampa, WFTX and WBBH, both in Fort Myers. I also worked as a freelance investigative reporter at WPIX in New York City.
Investigative Reporter Mike Mason 