Just another reason why you do not want government in medicine ... the politicization that will occur in the industry becuase of the illegal interference by government will push agendas to help politicians not patients

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/for-pennsylvanias-doctors-a-gag-order-on-fracking-chemicals/255030/

Under a new law, doctors in Pennsylvania can access information about chemicals used in natural gas extraction -- but they won't be able to share it with their patients. A provision buried in a law passed last month is drawing scrutiny from the public health and environmental community, who argue that it will "gag" doctors who want to raise concerns related to oil and gas extraction with the people they treat and the general public.

Pennsylvania is at the forefront in the debate over "fracking," the process by which a high-pressure mixture of chemicals, sand, and water are blasted into rock to tap into the gas. Recent discoveries of great reserves in the Marcellus Shale region of the state prompted a rush to development, as have advancements in fracking technologies. But with those changes have come a number of concerns from citizens about potential environmental and health impacts from natural gas drilling.

There is good reason to be curious about exactly what's in those fluids. A 2010 congressional investigation revealed that Halliburton and other fracking companies had used 32 million gallons of diesel products, which include toxic chemicals like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, in the fluids they inject into the ground. Low levels of exposure to those chemicals can trigger acute effects like headaches, dizziness, and drowsiness, while higher levels of exposure can cause cancer.

Pennsylvania law states that companies must disclose the identity and amount of any chemicals used in fracking fluids to any health professional that requests that information in order to diagnosis or treat a patient that may have been exposed to a hazardous chemical. But the provision in the new bill requires those health professionals to sign a confidentiality agreement stating that they will not disclose that information to anyone else -- not even the person they're trying to treat.

 

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I don't see how that could even be legal under the constitution. But then again many politicians have proven themselves to be unconcerned with the founding documents and principles of this nation.

Right now the fracking chemical compositions are protected as trade secrets. Trade secret protections are allowed by the Constitution.

So before this law was put in place, doctors wouldn't know what is in the fracking chemicals either. The law created an exception that allows the companies to maintain their trade secret status even though their secret was being forced to be shared with doctors.

Of course, I think that in this situation the general welfare of the citizens should override the trade secret claims of the drilling companies and the chemicals should be made public to everyone.

 

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I'm not a chemist but as far as I know just having an ingredient list isn't that helpful unless you know how it is put together and in what quantities.

This issue is near and dear to my heart because it's basically my back yard. The whole region of the Marcellus shale and the potential for mining/drilling it for gas promises in the short term, some MAJOR economic stimulus to an area that is otherwise pretty barren of any sort of economic growth whatsoever. The railroads and coal mining industries left this region and took with them the factories and this place is basically economically non-viable as a result.

In my mind, the whole Marcellus shale drilling deal is going to be just another shorter lived coal or rail operation - giving temporary relief and leaving the region worse off than it was when it's all over...

As for this law - it wouldn't be the first time that the truth of the matter were inaccurately portrayed in a news story, but there's a LOT of shady stuff going on in PA with respect to this sort of thing, and has been for decades - ESPECIALLY when it concerns central PA which is essentially a bunch of poor dumb farmers... If this is true and as portrayed, it is clearly disgusting and an outrage...

 

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Big Energy would happily give every puppy and baby in America cancer, even in the face of future lawsuits, if it improves their bottom line overall.

 

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But without the State they would never get the chance. .. The State is the necessary ingredient for special interests to impact the lives, liberties and property of the individual w/o consent

 

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What is the OP about .. A law [ not a business] suppressing the free speech [ liberty ] of the individual

Without government, there would be no restriction

 

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Right, there would be no restriction on any corporate entity to do whatever they want, regardless of harm inflicted, without the publics knowledge. If you think the public alone can ensure only ethical companies to prosper and exist, you are beyond delusional.

 

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