North Carolina legislators are considering a bill that would make it a crime to publicly disclose toxic chemicals that energy companies use in the hydraulic fracturing process, with offenders on the hook for fines or even jail time.
Known as the Energy Modernization Act, the bill would make any unauthorized disclosure of fracking trade secrets – including the chemicals used – punishable with a Class I Felony, according to an Energywire report.
Fracking, a gas and oil mining technique which involves injecting a mixture of sand and chemicals deep into the earth, has been blamed for contaminated drinking water, infertility, birth defects, cancer, air pollution, and other serious concerns. Americans opposed to fracking have not only struggled with obstacles put in place by gas and oil companies, but also with the high profits and employment that come to struggling communities along with the process.
Environmentalists have called for more transparency in the conversation over the chemicals used, although gas companies have fought back by saying that their chemicals are a trade secret and thus should be protected. Now, under the parameters of the North Carolina bill, even firefighters and individual healthcare workers could be in trouble if they openly discuss the chemicals that are injected into the ground near their home.
“The felony provision is far stricter than most states’ provisions in terms of the penalty for violating trade secrets,” Hannah Wiseman, a Florida State University assistant law professor who studies fracking laws, told Mother Jones.
If the bill, which has the backing of the state’s top Republicans, is signed into law, major corporations could be given the power to force emergency officials to sign confidentiality agreements, although the penalty for breaking that agreement is unclear.
“I think the only penalties to fire chiefs and doctors, if they talked about it at their annual conference, would be the penalties contained in the confidentiality agreement,” Wiseman went on. “But [the bill] is so poorly worded, I cannot confirm that if an emergency responder or fire chief discloses that confidential information, they too would not be subject to a felony.”
Fracking is currently prohibited in North Carolina until the state legislature is able to agree on which regulations to impose on gas companies. Early proposals have already earned praise for creating some of the strictest regulations in the US, although critics have worried that the draft is being used as a distraction until state Republicans are able to devise a strategy that is more beneficial to corporations. The introduction of the Energy Modernization Act is already being portrayed as a step in that direction.
“Environmental groups say they favor some of the provisions [in the bill],” Energywire reported. “It would put the state geologist in charge of maintaining the chemical information and would allow the state’s emergency management office to use it for planning. It also would allow the state to turn over the information immediately to medical providers and fire chiefs.”
Public health advocates warned that such perks could turn the Energy Modernization Act into a Trojan Horse that makes testing chemicals impossible. The US Environmental Protection Agency has waded into the debate as well, announcing earlier this month that it is considering forcing major companies to disclose which chemicals are used in the fracking process.
Deborah Goldberg, a lawyer at Earthjustice, which is dedicated to protecting natural resources, told Salon that the EPA’s involvement, and thus the possibility of more transparency, is essential.
“We want to be sure that there is some agency that actually is collecting the information about what is being used in these shale plays across the country,” she said. “The disclosure we are getting right now is pretty spotty.”
What Chemicals Are Used In Fracking:
As previously noted,
Chemicals perform many functions in a hydraulic fracturing job.
Although there are dozens to hundreds of chemicals which could be used as additives,
there are a limited number which are routinely used in hydraulic fracturing.
The following is a list of the chemicals used most often.
Chemical Name CAS Chemical Purpose
Hydrochloric Acid 007647-01-0
Helps dissolve minerals and initiate cracks in the rock Acid
Glutaraldehyde 000111-30-8
Eliminates bacteria in the water that produces corrosive
by-products
BIOCIDE: Quaternary Ammonium Chloride 012125-02-9 Eliminates bacteria in the water that produces corrosive
by-products
BIOCIDE: Quaternary Ammonium Chloride 061789-71-1
Eliminates bacteria in the water that produces corrosive
by-products
BIOCIDE: Tetrakis Hydroxymethyl-Phosphonium Sulfate 055566-30-8
Eliminates bacteria in the water that produces corrosive by-products
Ammonium Persulfate 007727-54-0
Allows a delayed break down of the gel
Sodium Chloride 007647-14-5
Product Stabilizer
Magnesium Peroxide 014452-57-4
Allows a delayed break down the gel
Magnesium Oxide 001309-48-4
Allows a delayed break down the gel
Calcium Chloride 010043-52-4
Product Stabilizer
Choline Chloride 000067-48-1
Prevents clays from swelling or shifting
Clay Stabilizer
Tetramethyl ammonium chloride 000075-57-0 Prevents clays from swelling or shifting
Sodium Chloride 007647-14-5
Prevents clays from swelling or shifting
Isopropanol 000067-63-0
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Methanol 000067-56-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Formic Acid 000064-18-6
Prevents the corrosion of the pipe
Acetaldehyde 000075-07-0
Prevents the corrosion of the pipe
Petroleum Distillate 064741-85-1
Carrier fluid for borate or zirconate crosslinker
Hydrotreated Light Petroleum Distillate 064742-47-8 Carrier fluid for borate or zirconate crosslinker
Potassium Metaborate 013709-94-9
Maintains fluid viscosity as temperature increases
Triethanolamine Zirconate 101033-44-7
Maintains fluid viscosity as temperature increases
Sodium Tetraborate 001303-96-4
Maintains fluid viscosity as temperature increases
Boric Acid 001333-73-9
Maintains fluid viscosity as temperature increases
Zirconium Complex 113184-20-6
Maintains fluid viscosity as temperature increases
Borate Salts N/A
Maintains fluid viscosity as temperature increases
Ethylene Glycol 000107-21-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Methanol 000067-56-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Polyacrylamide 009003-05-8
“Slicks” the water to minimize friction
Petroleum Distillate 064741-85-1
Carrier fluid for polyacrylamide friction reducer
Hydrotreated Light Petroleum Distillate 064742-47-8 Carrier fluid for polyacrylamide friction reducer
Methanol 000067-56-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Ethylene Glycol 000107-21-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Guar Gum 009000-30-0
Thickens the water in order to suspend the sand
Petroleum Distillate 064741-85-1
Carrier fluid for guar gum in liquid gels
Hydrotreated Light Petroleum Distillate 064742-47-8 Carrier fluid for guar gum in liquid gels
Methanol 000067-56-1 Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Polysaccharide Blend 068130-15-4
Thickens the water in order to suspend the sand
Ethylene Glycol 000107-21-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Citric Acid 000077-92-9
Prevents precipitation of metal oxides
Acetic Acid 000064-19-7
Prevents precipitation of metal oxides
Thioglycolic Acid 000068-11-1
Prevents precipitation of metal oxides
Sodium Erythorbate 006381-77-7
Prevents precipitation of metal oxides
Lauryl Sulfate 000151-21-3
Used to prevent the formation of emulsions in the fracture fluid
Isopropanol 000067-63-0
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Ethylene Glycol 000107-21-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Sodium Hydroxide 001310-73-2
Adjusts the pH of fluid to maintains the effectiveness of other components, such as crosslinkers
Potassium Hydroxide 001310-58-3
Adjusts the pH of fluid to maintains the effectiveness of other components, such as crosslinkers
Acetic Acid 000064-19-7
Adjusts the pH of fluid to maintains the effectiveness of other components, such as crosslinkers
Sodium Carbonate 000497-19-8
Adjusts the pH of fluid to maintains the effectiveness of other components, such as crosslinkers
Potassium Carbonate 000584-08-7
Adjusts the pH of fluid to maintains the effectiveness of other components, such as crosslinkers
Copolymer of Acrylamide and Sodium Acrylate 025987-30-8 Prevents scale deposits in the pipe Scale
Sodium Polycarboxylate N/A
Prevents scale deposits in the pipe
Phosphonic Acid Salt N/A
Prevents scale deposits in the pipe Scale
Lauryl Sulfate 000151-21-3
Used to increase the viscosity of the fracture fluid
Ethanol 000064-17-5
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Naphthalene 000091-20-3
Carrier fluid for the active surfactant ingredients
Methanol 000067-56-1
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
Isopropyl Alcohol 000067-63-0
Product stabilizer and / or winterizing agent
2-Butoxyethanol 000111-76-2
Product stabilizer
If you search the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ‡ website the alternate names of chemicals are listed.
This may help you identify the precise chemical you are looking for. The NIST site also contains the CAS numbers for chemicals. NIST is only one of many websites you can use to locate additional information about chemicals.
You can also search the following websites using the chemical name or CAS number:
OSHA/EPA Occupational Chemical Database ‡
The Chemical Database:
EPA Chemical Fact Sheets
So….
the fracking business is unregulated-
BUT
the chemicals are basically classified?
WHAT IS UP WITH THAT!
Some of those chemicals are EXTREME Hazmat-
they will eat holes through asphalt and need to have the guys in white suits with respirators to come contain the “incidents” when they happen.
If it’s all supposed to be so harmless-
why are the chemicals a secret?