The release of a national online registry of hydraulic fracturing chemicals this week has received qualified praise but has not stemmed calls for more disclosure about the natural gas extraction process. Fracfocus.org went live on Monday with 24 participating companies, including many natural gas operators active in Pennsylvania. The voluntary registry was developed by the Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and includes information on toxic chemicals gathered from materials safety sheets. It does not include proprietary or trade secret information. As of Wednesday, the chemicals used to fracture 30 wells in Pennsylvania had been posted online by three companies: Chesapeake Energy, Seneca Resources and EQT Production. Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group, said in a statement that the new site "is a critical tool, and represents a positive step toward further heightening transparency," one of the organization's goals. "This online database should also bring closure to the question of what and how many additives are used in the fracturing process," she said. But critics say the voluntary registry does not answer those questions. Lesser-known chemicals are often not included on the materials safety sheets, whether or not they are toxic, and so will not ...
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