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Shale Drilling Companies Keep Secret the Type of Chemicals Used in Fracking

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has asked drilling companies for more information about their hydrofracking practices. The EPA wants to know what chemicals each company is using, as well as any information the companies have about the environmental impact of the process. The information request is part of a larger study on the controversial process of natural gas removal. Industry officials say that this particular method is used by over 90 percent of wells mining natural gas.

Despite the fact that the process is so widely used, hydrofracking appears to cause a range of problems, including “toxic streams, ruined aquifers, dying livestock, brutal illnesses, and kitchen sinks that burst into flame.”

Hydrofracking is sending a highly pressurized mixture of water, chemicals and sand into the ground to break up bedrock that is blocking the path to natural gas reserves. The goal is to crack the bedrock, allowing the gas to reach the surface more quickly. The chemical water mix is then pulled back out of the mine. The exact chemicals used by corporations are not revealed to anyone, to prevent rival companies from stealing each other’s trade secrets. The EPA has promised that it will not release any information about the chemicals being used, as long as there is no health risk to the public.

In several regions where hydrofracking has been used, landowners have stated that the process is contaminating their water sources. Hydrofracking was examined by an EPA study in 2004 which declared the process safe, thereby allowing it to be exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act. The industry maintains that none of the chemicals ever come into contact with water sources. However, lawsuits filed by landowners have alleged that their wells have been contaminated by the drilling process.

For these reasons, critics contend that the 2004 study was incomplete. Key questions remain unanswered, as no one knows which chemicals are being used, and for that matter, how much chemical residue remains after the process is complete. Congress has directed the EPA to examine the process in greater detail. The request for information regarding chemical use is part of this new study, which should be complete in 2012. Companies that do not respond to the request may face negative consequences.

Contact a personal injury attorney if you or a loved one has been sickened or otherwise injured and you suspect hydrofracking was the cause.

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