“Secret Fracking Chemicals” Report Exposes Widespread Use September 11, 2018

We know that fracking for oil and gas can expose us to dangerous chemicals. We’re also learning—again—that what we don’t know can hurt us.

A new report documents that “secret” chemicals—chemicals whose identity was not disclosed—were used in 2,515 gas wells in Pennsylvania between 2013-2017. That’s 55 percent of the more than 4,500 unconventional gas wells drilled in the state during that five-year period.

And evidence from EPA suggests that these chemicals may be toxic or carcinogenic.

The report, released by PSR ally Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) focuses on Pennsylvania and the possibility that fracking and dumping of fracking wastewater may be allowed in the Delaware River Basin, which serves as a drinking water source for New York City and Philadelphia. But its implications apply to communities wherever fracking goes on.

PSR joins PFPI in calling for a permanent ban on fracking in the Delaware River Basin, a ban on importation of fracking wastewater into the Basin, and disclosure of all fracking and drilling chemicals, with no exceptions for trade secrets.

“The extensive use of secret chemicals in fracking means that if our water were contaminated, citizens and regulators might not know until it was too late,” stated Walter Tsou, MD, former health commissioner of Philadelphia and a board member PSR/Philadelphia.

Read the full report here