Last week, we brought you the news that Pennsylvania Department of Health employees were sent a list of fracking-related buzzwords as part of official guidance for how to handle complaints to the department -- and told not to personally return calls from people who used words on the list.
This weekend, Governor Corbett's former top health department official said the state wasn't doing nearly enough to study the health impacts of tracking.
“The lack of any action speaks volumes," said Dr. Eli Avila. “Don't BS the public. Their health comes first."
Corbett's current health secretary, Michael Wolf, said he hasn't spoken directly to the governor about possible health impacts from the drilling boom, only to the governor's staff.
PennFuture, along with the Sierra Club, Clean Air Council, PennEnvironment and Clean Water Action, put out a joint statement yesterday demanding an investigation:
"We are calling for a full independent and transparent investigation into the Pennsylvania Department of Health's response to drilling complaints. The legitimate questions of Pennsylvania citizens concerning their health or that of family members as a result of natural gas drilling activity cannot be discounted or dismissed outright. The fact that the department originally denied the existence of a “buzzwords” list, and the fact that Governor Corbett has refused to weigh in with a forceful response, leaves us no choice but to call for a full investigation. We are also asking the department to make available to the public all past and future health complaints, and to commit to addressing all future complaints in a timely manner."
"This entire episode begs the question: Is the Corbett administration more concerned with protecting the natural gas industry than it is the health and welfare of Pennsylvania families and future generations? There should not be one set of rules for the gas industry and another set for everyone else. If there is any question that the actions of drillers are causing harm to our air, water and land as well as the health of our citizens, the governor and state agencies must address those concerns immediately. Governor Corbett needs to show leadership on this issue of great public concern, not delay and deny."
Stay tuned. This is a story we'll be following closely.
Andrew Sharp is PennFuture's Director of Outreach and is based in Philadelphia. He tweets at @RexBainbridge.
A report issued by StateImpact last week revealed that Pennsylvania Department of Health employees were sent a list of fracking-related buzzwords as part of official guidance for how to handle complaints to the department -- and were told not to personally return calls from people who used words on the list. Words and phrases singled out for special treatment included: drilling, fracking, Marcellus Shale, skin rash, and cancer cluster:
One veteran employee says she was instructed not to return phone calls from residents who expressed health concerns about natural gas development.
“We were absolutely not allowed to talk to them,” said Tammi Stuck, who worked as a community health nurse in Fayette County for nearly 36 years.
Another retired employee, Marshall P. Deasy III, confirmed that.
Deasy, a former program specialist with the Bureau of Epidemiology, said the department also began requiring field staff to get permission to attend any meetings outside the department. This happened, he said, after an agency consultant made comments about drilling at a community meeting.
In the more than 20 years he worked for the department, Deasy said, “community health wasn’t told to be silent on any other topic that I can think of.”
The Corbett administration initially denied that such a list existed:
The Health Department initially denied the existence of both the drilling “buzzwords” list and the employee permission form. A spokeswoman called the two retired employees’ claims “erroneous.”
The department later acknowledged the existence of the documents, but said these policies were meant to guide–not silence–employees in responding to complaints.
Some, including Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Daily News, are calling for an investigation by lawmakers in Harrisburg.
Whatever happened here, it's clear that the we haven't heard the last on this. We need to know why the natural gas industry was seemingly singled out for special treatment -- by a department tasked with protecting public health.
Stay tuned.
Andrew Sharp is PennFuture's director of outreach and is based in Philadelphia. He tweets at @RexBainbridge.
