Publication Items

Fracking Chemicals: What We Know — and What We Don't [1]

You have to give the U.S. EPA some credit. The agency has done quite a bit to let the public know about some of the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. EPA on March 27, 2015, published a database of nearly 700 of those chemicals, which is a good start and shows how open-source and non-governmental efforts can overcome industry efforts to hide data on toxics.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Pollution [5]
Water & Oceans [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Fracking Chemicals: What We Know — and What We Don't [1]
BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [8]

April 20, 2015, marks the fifth anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history. The story is far from over. If you are covering the legacy of the spill, SEJ is offering two special TipSheets by the Advocate's Amy Wold that will help you get the facts and background. Photo: Oiled endangered Ridley's turtle. Credit: Carolyn Cole/ LA Times; courtesy NOAA.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [11]
Fish & Fisheries [12]
Laws & Regulations [13]
Natural Resources [14]
Pollution [5]
Water & Oceans [6]
Wildlife [15]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [16]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [8]
Latest EPA Release of Toxics Data Offers Leads to Environmental Stories [17]

The U.S. EPA has unveiled analysis of its most recent Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data (for 2013). The TRI provides a useful starting point for finding not only local and regional hotspots, but also significant trends.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Pollution [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Latest EPA Release of Toxics Data Offers Leads to Environmental Stories [17]
Groups Sue EPA for Data on Toxic Fracking Chemicals [18]

The industry got Congress in 2005 to block the public from knowing about these chemicals, which can end up in people's drinking water. But the enviro groups, led by the Environmental Integrity Project, want to use a different law to help unlock the data.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Laws & Regulations [13]
Pollution [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Groups Sue EPA for Data on Toxic Fracking Chemicals [18]
Arrest of Four Near Hog Farm Tests Utah's "Ag Gag" Law [19]

One way to deal with bad press is to make it illegal. Exposés of inhumane conditions at feedlots and slaughterhouses are being made illegal by state legislatures that pass "ag gag" laws. Now a case in Utah is challenging whether industrial agriculture's claims of secrecy trump the eating public's right to know. Image: Sows in 7'x2' Smithfield Foods gestation crates. By Humane Society of the US [CC], 2010. [20]

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [21]
Agriculture [22]
Consumer [23]
Health [24]
Journalism & Media [25]
Laws & Regulations [13]
Pollution [5]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [26]
Northwest (OR WA) [27]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Arrest of Four Near Hog Farm Tests Utah's "Ag Gag" Law [19]
Decades of Petrochemical Industry Documents on Hiding Toxicity in Online Archive [28]

The Center for Public Integrity, Columbia University, and City University of New York have just published some 20,000 pages of hitherto unpublished letters, e-mails, presentations, and meeting minutes from the oil and chemical industries in a public database, called "Exposed: Decades of Denial on Poisons."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Consumer [23]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Health [24]
Pollution [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Decades of Petrochemical Industry Documents on Hiding Toxicity in Online Archive [28]
"Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos" [29]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Environmental Health [11]
Health [24]
Military [31]
People & Population [32]
Planning & Growth [33]
Pollution [5]
Region:
Asia [34]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about "Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos" [29]
Did Halliburton Buy Baker Hughes Silence on Fracking Chemicals? [35]

It seemed like good news when Baker Hughes, one of the world's largest oilfield services companies, announced in Oct 2014 that it would start disclosing all the chemicals it used in its fracking operation. Now Halliburton, an even larger oilfield services company, is buying Baker Hughes. In a $34.6 billion merger. Or is it a hostile takeover?

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [36]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [37]
Pollution [5]
Water & Oceans [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Did Halliburton Buy Baker Hughes Silence on Fracking Chemicals? [35]
Exxon Claims 900,000 Pages of Secrets on Arkansas Spill [38]

Yes, the pipeline is publicly regulated. Yes, the March 2013 rupture of Exxon's Pegasus Pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas, quite publicly polluted people's yards and homes. Yes, it is publicly known that there were defects and poor maintenance on the pipeline. But 900,000 pages of documents that might show Exxon's neglect are being claimed as "confidential" by the company as it tries to defend against a class-action lawsuit.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Economy & Business [36]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Pollution [5]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [16]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Exxon Claims 900,000 Pages of Secrets on Arkansas Spill [38]
Why Doesn't Congress Want You To Read These Reports? [39]

For decades, Congress has refused to release taxpayer-funded reports by the Congressional Research Service. Fortunately, the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project gets them and releases them. Here are some new explainers that may be of use to environmental journalists.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [22]
Air [40]
Climate Change [41]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Natural Resources [14]
Pollution [5]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Why Doesn't Congress Want You To Read These Reports? [39]

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