Oil industry agrees with Mulcair on fracking

Oil industry agrees with Mulcair on fracking by Bill Kaufmann, June 11, 2012, Calgary Sun
Outspoken energy sector critic, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair and his target industry actually agree on one thing, says the body representing producers. That’s the need to publicly reveal the cocktail of sometimes carcinogenic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, said  “It’s something we agree with Mr. Mulcair on — fracking should be disclosed,” said Huffaker. Over the weekend, Mulcair, who’s already accused Alberta’s oilsands for inflating the Canadian dollar and hurting other export industries, said fracking operators are hiding the chemicals they use to inject underground to release petroleum from rock formations. … When asked why the industry in Alberta, which has drilled 167,000 such wells in the past 60 years, hasn’t disclosed those chemicals, he said it’s never been a public concern. “There hasn’t been a focus on the issues … clearly, the shale gas evolution has brought new focus and we think it’ll help with public comfort,” said Huffaker. He said the province has yet to find groundwater contamination caused by fracking in Alberta. … And a 2011 U.S. Congressional report identified 29 hazardous chemicals employed in the process. “Some of these chemicals, if not disposed of safely or allowed to leach into the drinking water supply, could damage the environment or pose a risk to human health,” states the report. “During hydraulic fracturing … their migration is not entirely predictable.”

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