Virginia House Votes to Keep Fracking Chemical Cocktails a Secret

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Virginia House Votes to Keep Fracking Chemical Cocktails a Secret

Virginia's House of Delegates voted 59-37 in favor of a bill that would allow fracking companies to keep their chemical cocktails a secret.

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A bill that passed Virginia's House of Delegates bars access to information about the chemicals that energy companies use in fracking. Photo credit: Sierra Club Virginia​

HB 1678 states that "chemical ingredient names, the chemical abstracts number for a chemical ingredient, or the amount or concentration of chemicals or ingredients used to stimulate a well" are exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

As the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, while fracking is not heavily used in Virginia, some energy companies have shown interest. Texas energy company Shore Exploration and Production Corp. has acquired about 86,000 acres of gas and oil leases for Virginia's Taylorsville basin.

The bill was sponsored by Republican delegate Roxann L. Robinson, who introduced a similar bill last year. During Friday's debate of the bill, she argued that "by protecting that actual recipe, it will foster more efficient and more advancements in the fracking industry." 
She claimed that HB1678 has since evolved into a "transparency bill" after it was amended to only cover information about chemical concentrations, not the chemicals themselves, according to the Times-Dispatch.

Robinson has also sponsored HB 1679, a separate bill that "authorizes the Director of the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (Director) to disclose [chemical names and concentrations] to additional Department staff or state or local officials to assist the Department in responding to an emergency."

Many Virginians, however, have criticized the measures.

"As a physician, I have grave concerns about the dangers this may pose," wrote Kimberly M. Cheek, M.D. of Stuarts Draft in an op-ed. "The director may disclose information in an emergency, but there could be no further dissemination." 
"Who determines what constitutes an emergency?" Cheek continued. "What happens to those who slowly develop symptoms caused by leaching of chemicals? I doubt vague and confusing symptoms that appear over time will be considered an 'emergency.' If we can't share information, how do physicians ever identify common symptoms?"

During fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals gets injected into shale deposits under the surface of the Earth to release oil and natural gas.

Read more: Eco Watch

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