Publication Items

PEER Sues FDA for Documents on Livestock Antibiotics [1]

Under FOIA, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility requested FDA documents justifying its use of categorical exclusions to avoid assessing the environmental impact of not regulating livestock antibiotics. After FDA failed to provide any, PEER filed a lawsuit in federal district court.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Policy [3]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Chemicals [5]
Agriculture [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about PEER Sues FDA for Documents on Livestock Antibiotics [1]
State Fracking Disclosure Rules Don't Protect Public: Report [8]

A new OMB Watch report calls full advance disclosure of fracking fluid ingredients "the necessary first step" to protecting people's drinking water and concluded "no state has yet established all of the elements of a chemical disclosure policy strong enough to ensure the quality of the water and the health of communities near gas wells."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [9]
Policy [3]
People & Population [10]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Chemicals [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about State Fracking Disclosure Rules Don't Protect Public: Report [8]
EnergyWire Spotlights Limits of Fracking Disclosure in Ohio [12]

About two dozen chemicals in the 8.3 million gallons of fluid used to fracture a gas-bearing Marcellus Shale formation near Canton, Ohio were disclosed on a public website — but the identities of another four chemical ingredients were withheld on the claim that they were trade secrets. EnergyWire's Peter Behr takes a look at the controversy.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [13]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Chemicals [5]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [14]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about EnergyWire Spotlights Limits of Fracking Disclosure in Ohio [12]
International Energy Agency Calls for Fracking Transparency [15]

A new report from the IEA includes guidelines emphasizing transparency and the monitoring of environmental and social impacts. That includes full disclosure of fracking fluid ingredients and testing of baseline water and air conditions before drilling begins.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [9]
Environmental Politics [16]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Chemicals [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about International Energy Agency Calls for Fracking Transparency [15]
Clear Channel Mounts FBI Billboards Promoting Trade Secrecy [17]

Claims of trade secrecy — often unsubstantiated — are a huge barrier to environmental reporters and others trying to find the truth about chemicals that may harm human health and the environment. But the FBI's billboards urge Americans to be vigilant against corporate insiders who may appear suspicious, and presumably to turn them in.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [4]
Health [18]
Environmental Health [19]
Economy & Business [20]
Chemicals [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Clear Channel Mounts FBI Billboards Promoting Trade Secrecy [17]
New Ohio Law Limits Disclosure of Fracking Fluid Ingredients [21]

The Ohio legislature cleared a fracking bill May 24, 2012 that increases inspections of wells and requires drillers to hold liability insurance. But Reuters reports: "Many Democrats said the bill paves the way for the industry to hide information about toxic chemicals that could contaminate groundwater."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [9]
Pollution [13]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Economy & Business [20]
Chemicals [5]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [14]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about New Ohio Law Limits Disclosure of Fracking Fluid Ingredients [21]
How Muzzling Scientists Helps the Chemical Industry [22]

A Chicago Tribune investigative series on flame retardant chemicals helps illustrate how federal agency control of what scientists say to reporters can help the chemical and tobacco industries. By reporter Michael Hawthorne.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Wildlife [23]
Science [24]
Pollution [13]
People & Population [10]
Health [18]
Environmental Politics [16]
Environmental Health [19]
Chemicals [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about How Muzzling Scientists Helps the Chemical Industry [22]
Fracking Disclosure: Is the Data Half-Disclosed or Half-Hidden? [25]

After backroom lobbying by gas and oil industry groups, the Obama White House watered down the promised fracking-fluid disclosure requirement promised earlier this year — imposing it only after completion of the fracking operation, when the information may have little effect (such as public pressure on BLM to deny a drilling permit).
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [9]
Pollution [13]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Chemicals [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Fracking Disclosure: Is the Data Half-Disclosed or Half-Hidden? [25]
Data Accumulates Slowly on What's in Fracking Fluid [26]

If you have a fracking story in your beat, getting information about what's in the controversial fracking fluids may be like pulling teeth. But there are a few resources that can help, such as the "FracFocus" chemical disclosure registry.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [9]
Natural Resources [27]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Economy & Business [20]
Chemicals [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Data Accumulates Slowly on What's in Fracking Fluid [26]
RTK Net Reporting Tools Still Sharp After Many Years [28]

The Right-To-Know Network has been around since 1989. Today, with a modern and searchable Web interface, it offers access to some data that reporters would be hard put to find anywhere else. Most important is its collection of Risk Management Plans — which chemical plants are required to maintain to prevent, prepare for, and respond to toxic disasters.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [5]
Disasters [29]
Journalism & Media [30]
Technology [31]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about RTK Net Reporting Tools Still Sharp After Many Years [28]

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