‘Sherry Vargson, who leased the mineral rights under her Pennsylvania farm to an energy company, demonstrates that methane has leached into her well water by lighting the water on fire as it pours from her kitchen sink. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, has left some of the water in northeastern Pennsylvania nonpotable, forcing many residents to rely on outside water distribution.” [Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo / Landov]

“A physician’s lawsuit over a Pennsylvania statute concerning chemicals used in natural gas drilling is the latest battle involving industrial disclosure laws.”

By Alicia Gallegos, amednews staff. Posted Aug. 27, 2012.

“When several unrelated patients visited McMurray, Pa.-based plastic surgeon Amy Paré, MD, she initially was unsure what to make of the bleeding, oozing legions covering their faces.

“The wounds were not cancerous, but the inflammation was severe and becoming worse. Dr. Paré’s suspicions grew when she learned that the patients lived near the same natural gas drilling site. Tests later found that the patients had phenol and hippuric acid in their urine, two contact irritants rarely found in humans. The patients improved after they stopped drinking water from their underground wells.

“‘Knowing what chemicals they had been exposed to would have sped up the process’ of treating the patients, said Dr. Paré, who specializes in treating skin conditions.

“But at the time, no official route existed for doctors to learn what chemicals patients may have been exposed to near drilling sites, information that remains protected as trade secrets unless lawmakers dictate otherwise. Under a new Pennsylvania law, natural gas companies must tell physicians the substances patients might have come into contact with. But doctors must sign confidentiality agreements promising they will use the information only for those patients’ treatment.

More than a dozen states require firms to disclose chemicals used in fracking because of health concerns.

“Some doctors say the agreements amount to gag orders that interfere with their ability to treat patients and to share information freely with colleagues and medical researchers. The conflict has led to a legal challenge by Pennsylvania nephrologist Alfonso Rodriguez, MD, against the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection. He claims that the law’s doctor-contract provision is vague and violates physicians’ First Amendment rights.

“The issue is not limited to Pennsylvania. Across the nation, doctors are being drawn into the controversy over induced hydraulic fracturing, more commonly called fracking. The technique involves drilling and injecting water, sand and chemicals at a high pressure to release natural gas from deep underground rock formations.

“Natural gas drilling is being conducted in at least 30 states, with nine out of every 10 gas wells using fracking, according to a July analysis by OMB Watch, a Washington-based research and government watchdog group. Supporters say fracking produces a cleaner energy source, creates jobs and provides an economic benefit to landowners who lease property rights to gas exploration firms. Critics argue that the chemicals used pose direct health risks to workers and indirect risks to many others, including through potential ground water contamination.

“Concerns about fracking have led to more than a dozen state laws requiring drilling companies to make certain disclosures about the chemicals they use to state agencies or online. Like the Pennsylvania law, several include requirements that doctors receiving the information sign confidentiality agreements.

What can doctors say?

“Some doctors think the confidentiality clauses put them in a tough spot.” To continue reading this American Medical News article, click here.