Does the new impact fee law violate medical ethics?

There's an interesting discussion going on the State Impact PA site about the new impact fee provision for disclosure of fracking fluids to medical personnel.  Here's what the legislation says:

“If a health pro­fes­sional deter­mines that a med­ical emer­gency exists and the spe­cific iden­tity and amount of any chem­i­cals claimed to be a trade secret or con­fi­den­tial pro­pri­etary infor­ma­tion are nec­es­sary for emer­gency treat­ment, the ven­dor, ser­vice provider or oper­a­tor shall imme­di­ately dis­close the infor­ma­tion to the health pro­fes­sional upon a ver­bal acknowl­edg­ment by the health pro­fes­sional that the infor­ma­tion may not be used for pur­poses other than the health needs asserted and that the health pro­fes­sional shall main­tain the infor­ma­tion as con­fi­den­tial. The ven­dor, ser­vice provider or oper­a­tor may request, and the health pro­fes­sional shall pro­vide upon request, a writ­ten state­ment of need and a con­fi­den­tial­ity agree­ment from the health pro­fes­sional as soon as cir­cum­stances per­mit, in con­for­mance with reg­u­la­tions pro­mul­gated under this chapter.”

Dr. Jerome Paul­son, Pro­fes­sor of Pedi­atrics & Pub­lic Health at George Wash­ing­ton Uni­ver­sity, says the law runs counter to med­ical ethics, would slow down delivery of care, and would also impede collection of information about ongoing health effects: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/02/16/leading-public-h...

The impact fee authors say it's not a problem; the wording of the measure was a compromise between those concerned about medical care delivery and those concerned about non-disclosure of fracking compounds:

http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2012/02/16/impact-fee-autho...

Does that provision reflect an industry attempt to conceal health risks? Will it slow health care in event of accidents, as providers suggest? Should health professionals have a seat at the table when regulations or laws are being drafted? Does it worry anyone?

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Jim ShoosPermalink Reply by Jim Shoos on February 18, 2012 at 8:00am

Nice post Craig... and exactly on point.  There is literally no other industry that would expect to be forced to reveal proprietary information that was derived at considerable expense to all its competitors that paid nary a penny of the development costs.  It would be like asking Merk to share their formula for their Statin medication with Eli Lilly... ain't gonna happen.  Idealists like to think that simply because something is in the best interests of the public that suddenly the laws of basic business and patent/trademark should get thrown right out the window. 

If that's how you wish to live...they have a wonderful country already established for you, and Hugo Chavez would welcome you with open arms.

Permalink Reply by Dan on February 20, 2012 at 3:47am

Jim,  Not disagreeing with your point, but anyone with the right lab can easily just take one Merk Statin pill and easily determine the exact make up.  Drug companies most likely know the exact composition of competiters product.  It is only the law in place that prevents the sale of copies for a time period.  Since you are in the industry,  are you aware of any future technologies such as bacteria that "eats" shale.  If I owned an O&G company and could only harvest 8% of the product, you could bet I would be trying to liquify the entire formation and pump the unwanted flow back in.  A technology like this could be the answer to green extraction or could sink an entire town.  Not trying to be silly, but oversight and disclosure has its positives and negatives but we still need some.

0l1a6laz7smpfPermalink Reply by 0l1a6laz7smpf on February 18, 2012 at 8:25am

Hi Craig....Isn't it required of the oil companies to disclose a disclosure form to the Government when selling/producing and that lists the chemicals used?    why not the lessor to have that info also...or is it not public record?

Permalink Reply by craig on February 18, 2012 at 10:42am

 I don't defintively know VG, but some if not most/all states do require that all ingredients be filed with the state. I've seen the list Pa has been keeping the last 2 years.  As long as the companies didn't have to make public the exact recipe of the frack fluid I suppose you could make public a list that includes all the chemicals, just not the volume or ratios used. Maybe the best thing to have them publicly list would be a list that could have any number of the listed chemicals in the frac. That way they could keep their recipe secret.

Didn't I read that the new Pa law forces the companies to list their recipes on http://fracfocus.org/chemical-use/what-chemicals-are-used  .  Pretty sure I read that.

0l1a6laz7smpfPermalink Reply by 0l1a6laz7smpf on February 18, 2012 at 10:57am

Hi Craig...just saw a link for Texas's new law of disclosure...

http://www.treehugger.com/fossil-fuels/colorado-and-texas-require-d...

and at this discussion there are some links also:

http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/disclosures-made-in-leasin...

Permalink Reply by craig on February 18, 2012 at 11:26am

Thanks fer the links.

Jim ShoosPermalink Reply by Jim Shoos on February 20, 2012 at 4:13am

Look at it in a different situation. I use to operate a pizza shop. Once a woman complained to me that she had an allergic reaction to something in our sauce. Was it my responsibility to tell everyone that called my shop everything that was in every product that I sold ? No. It's virtually impossible. This is where personal responsibility comes in ,


Mark...surely you jest!  Personal responsibility??  If we assumed personal responsibility we wouldn't have litigation over the fact that hot coffee scaled somebody's crotch.  We wouldn't have labels on the boxes that irons come in telling us not to iron clothes while we are wearing them.    In today's society its about being able to sue somebody and hold somebody else accountable since we clearly don't want to be accountable for ourselves.

0l1a6laz7smpfPermalink Reply by 0l1a6laz7smpf on February 20, 2012 at 4:30am

That's the point Mark..

If a Lessor asks the company in inquiring what sort of chemicals will be used on or near their property....it is upon request.   Shall the oil company choose to tell , 'it's not your business?"  Since the oil company prepares a disclosure sheet for their investors, why upon request shouldn't the Lessor also have that list?   surely if they are worried about their concoction getting out...they  don't seem to worry with the SEC and the investor getting a copy.   I think it is the SEC ...of course perhaps they just started doing this disclosure...so eventually it will be that the Lessors will be able to ask for the info...not all Lessors would care cause they don't know what is in them anyway.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-usa-fracking-interior-...

 

http://www.edf.org/news/sec-issues-ground-breaking-guidance-requiri...

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904009304576528484179...

 

Permalink Reply by Nut leesduh on February 19, 2012 at 8:50am

Ok we're not baking cake. We're talking about energy, gas. Don't we want to get the most out of the ground we drill. I think any process to get the most out of the ground by drilling methods or frack recipes should be public knowledge. No secrets. 

Permalink Reply by Billy Park Whyde on February 20, 2012 at 4:30am

 Rather strange here the medical industry wants to know what another industry is putting into a situation. When one looks at the record of the pharmaceutical  companies looks like a major double standard.  Lets look at some of what Big Pharma has promoted for out health through the medical industry.

http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=888

Francisco—More than two years after leading health and parents’ groups asked Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) to reformulate its flagship baby shampoo to remove a chemical that releases formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, the company is still using the formaldehyde-releasing ingredient in Johnson’s Baby Shampoo in the United States.

http://www.pharmacyerrorlawfirm.com/library/texas-sues-drug-company...

http://chantixlawsuit-info.com/category/chantix-lawsuit-news/

Johnson & Johnson  making  the coin off of children!

http://www.parkermcdonaldlaw.com/johnson-johnson-takes-3-billion-hit/

Johnson and Johnson hip replacements

Chantix  best review can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hp_y0wDFz0 better yet! http://www.hulu.com/watch/317024/saturday-night-live-chantix

The Big Pharma and the Medical Industry http://www.drugwatch.com/pharmaceutical-companies-paying-doctors.php

  I would think big Pharma is far more dangerouse than frack water!

Permalink Reply by Mickgyver on February 20, 2012 at 7:56am

Billy , It always seems those that oppose something strongly will use any means to get to an end that they like .

When there is such a situation that can be a good thing to help many who have struggled making a living for a long time , we owe it to everyone involved to take the time to understand this fully .

We need information for our own benefit and protection to your own families and friends and this should be able to be accomplished with good safety measures as well as moving ahead and being profitable for both the oil companies and the landowners with a little co-operation

As with anything else if there are truly no dangers to the land or the water supplies this needs to be explained and proven to the public to ease their minds and get their full support .

As with any industry there is always the chance of an accidental spill or a problem that can happen .this can generally be attributed to human error but not always .

But if there is a way to educate anyone that may have to deal with the aftermath of an accident this type of information should be easily accessible at the location and any normal rescue people who may be required to attend to an accident within the county should know in advance what they may need to deal with so they can be as prepared to assist as well as possible .

As far as problems underground , as long as this has gone on in Texas and Oklahoma there should be a lot of information available to help understand what we are headed for in our future here in Ohio .

Just as with food items and commercial sale of such items , it should be information that is readily available to any customer who wishes to know the contents of any given product.

If a person is allergic to peanut oil , or any other food item , the seller of this item should have the information on hand of the contents so a person can choose to consume or purchase this item .

When you are in a business that supplies or affects the public ,you end up with a different set of responsibilities than you have if you are just working as a mechanic or welder which also has liabilities associated with these trades as well .

When changes are made to a product that has been the same for years this change need to be made available so as not to endanger anyone with the change .

I say this because of a recent change the pharmacy did to my elderly father's blood thinning medication , his test results were fine for the last several months , the pharmacy changed their generic brand supplier , they failed to tell him of this change ,the composition was such that after my father took this ,while walking from the hospital he became severely light headed and fell backwards , and had I not been there he would have busted his head on the concrete berm .

His doctor found the medicine to be at fault , now he only gets the name brand for the quality controls are much better .

This is just an example to indicate that one mixtures contents can be totally good where another could be harmful to some people .This is why the various mixtures may be helpful to someone who is required to provide aid if needed .

You are right about the pharmacies , I have read articles where it has been stated they knew that a certain medication would cause a certain amount of deaths  ,but it was still profitable for them to pay the lawsuits rather than pulling the medication off the shelves because of the percentage of people who the drug would help versus the ones it hurt . Sounds pretty cruel for sure .

We all know many industries will do whatever they can get away with to make more profits until the extra costs and bad publicity start to sway the public , then the corrections will start to be applied in the right places .

This has gone on forever and will continue , but there can always be a check and balance to keep moving forward for the good of everyone even if the profit ratio is a little less as long as it is still decent we move ahead .

It is not fair to stop the process entirely unless the proof exist that the dangers outweigh the benefits for the public . people are never expendable for business profits ,so lets work together for a safe and profitable future of both business and landowner .

Best wishes to all for a healthy and wealthy future . Mick

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