May 10, 2016 - Institute (API) and America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). The petition requests that API and ANGA ask th
Tues., May 10, 2016 Contact: Tim Whitehouse FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (240) 246-‐4492,
[email protected] Maryland Groups Call on Fracking Industry to Allow Silenced Victims to Speak (Washington, DC) On Tuesday, a coalition of health and environmental groups in Maryland delivered a petition with 9,436 signatures to the American Petroleum Institute (API) and America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). The petition requests that API and ANGA ask their members to publicly disclose the number of nondisclosure agreements signed with people who claimed to have been harmed by fracking, the locations of the alleged harm, and the reasons for each agreement. The petition also asks fracking companies to allow those who have been silenced by these agreements to speak publicly about any concerns they may have about health-‐ related issues. Nondisclosure agreements require people to keep quiet about the harm caused by fracking in return for a payment of money to compensate them for the harm. It is likely that API and ANGA members have signed hundreds, if not thousands, of these agreements with individuals whose water, health or property have been damaged by fracking. Under current law, Maryland could begin issuing fracking permits as soon as October 2017. Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility (Chesapeake PSR) said, “The oil and gas industry claims fracking is safe, but it turns out they have worked to suppress important information through the use of nondisclosure agreements. It is not acceptable that fracking companies are allowed to silence people harmed by fracking through the use of these types of agreements.” (more)
Chesapeake PSR/Maryland groups Page 2 Gina Angiola, MD, a board member of Chesapeake PSR, said, “The industry’s use of nondisclosure agreements is part of a larger strategy to keep important information from the public on the health effects of fracking. It calls into question the Maryland General Assembly’s decision to allow fracking to begin in 2017. No industry that hides important health information should be allowed to operate in Maryland.” “The overwhelming body of science now shows that fracking causes significant health risks and adverse outcomes. It is time for the industry to come clean with what it knows about these risks,” said Ann Bristow, PhD, a commissioner on former Governor Martin O’Malley’s Marcellus Shale Safe Drilling Initiative. “Maryland health professionals must have full and adequate information on environmental exposures of our patients to provide them the best health care. The fracking industry's suppression of critical health information harms public health," said Katie Huffling, RN, CNM, director of Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments. Aaron Mintzes, policy advocate at Earthworks, said, “The oil and gas industry uses nondisclosure agreements to intimidate and silence people whose water and air they polluted.” The petition was organized by Chesapeake PSR, Maryland Clean Water Action, and the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and supported by Halt the Harm Network. A copy of the petition is available at: www.chesapeakepsr.org/fracking • • •
