TRANSPARENCY OVER CHEMICALS USED IN FRACKING

In the United States, the fracking companies refuse to reveal which chemicals they use in fracking. They make the usual, sometimes shady, claim of ‘Commercial Confidentiality’.

In the UK, the companies should be required to make a full disclosure of which chemicals they use. The chemicals may not be damaging, and in well regulated drilling stations, they may not leak into water systems. But in the UK, a country that is far more densely populated than the United States, fracking companies need to calm the (sometimes exaggerated) fears of the public.

There is a move towards making the fracking companies more transparent here than in the United States, but this needs to be made totally clear in the Manifesto; perhaps along with other measures to make sure that fracking is well regulated, without the regulation being too complex or onerous.