Poisoning U.S. Water – Now A “Trade Secret”

It`s not the first time I`m writing about fracking and its effects on public water supplies. I am genuinely worried by the way U.S. politicians sell our country to corporate fat cats… without even thinking about the millions of people that will drink polluted water and get sick.

Just last week, a district judge in Wyoming ruled against a group of concerned environmentalists who wanted to know what chemicals are used while fracking.

source: trib.com

Recent studies clearly show this invasive procedure is a dangerous source of pollution, releasing chemicals into the ground, which eventually end up in our tap water. For a more clear understanding of this fracking, here`s an excerpt from an article on RTAmerica:

“Fracking procedures use specially formulated chemicals that act as lubricants to keep the machinery running. Fracking involves pumping water, sand and underground fluids to split open rocks that contain oil and gas. The chemical lubricants maintain the orderly flow of sand. Environmentalists are concerned that these chemicals could pollute the land and water, which would be especially detrimental to landowners located near fracking sites.”

Now, the article says “could pollute”, but lab tests have already confirmed that towns situated near fracking sites are among the most polluted ones in the U.S.

source: www.bloomberg.com

“A retest of water in Pavillion, Wyoming, found evidence of many of the same gases and compounds the Environmental Protection Agency used to link contamination there to hydraulic fracturing, the first finding of that kind.” (www.bloomberg.com)

But even though the negative effects of hydraulic fracking were revealed last year, the people whose job is to protect American citizens believe that withholding information about chemicals used in this procedure is a “reasonable” thing to do. And the argument to sustain such an absurd point of view is even more delirant: the ingredients are “trade secrets” that Wyoming’s open records law does not apply to. So poisoning OUR water becomes THEIR trade secret. A recipe they must conceal from the competition, just like Coke, right?

This is Erin Brockovich all over again. No, it`s actually worse. Remember that movie, where Julia Roberts sued an oil company for getting an entire community sick by poisoning their water with Chromium 6? That movie was released in 2000 and was based on a true story. Well, here we are in 2013 and the problem is getting worse by the day:

As you can see, this study was conducted in 2010. Lab tests commissioned by EWG (Environmental Working Group)discovered that Chromium 6 is present in 89 percent of the water tested. Norman, Oklahoma; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Riverside, California returned the highest levels of contamination, in some cases at a level more than 800 times higher than normal.

As we speak, at least 74 million Americans in 42 states drink chromium-polluted tap water, much of it likely in the cancer-causing hexavalent form. But did the government do anything to fix this major health hazard? The only measure they took was to set a new drinking water limit for this chemical, after years and years of completely ignoring it.

source: ewg.org

And that`s just the tip of the iceberg! If it took them years to regulate one single chemical, it might not be surprising to discover EPA only admits the existence of about 5% of chemicals found in U.S. tap water. According to EWG, since 1996, the EPA has reviewed data on toxicity and water pollution for 138 chemicals, but in every case it declined to set a safety standard. On the other hand, an EWG’s analysis in 2009 showed that collectively these chemicals pollute drinking water used by more than 111 million Americans.

Now, you tell me: why do we even have these NGOs? Why do they work their asses off to protect Americans, to defend their right to be informed… when a Wyoming judge can violate the Constitution like she pleases, standing up for the fat cats` “trade secrets”?

And I can`t help but wonder… these people who sell their country for a million dollars stuffed in their pockets… who`re directly responsible for the suffering and death of entire communities… how do they sleep at night? How do they look in the mirror? How do they look at their kids and be proud to raise them in this world? How?

By Alec Deacon