Attn OSHA: Worker safety issues at Bartonville hydraulic fracturing site

Telephone your local OSHA Regional Office.

Watch this video of hydraulic fracturing at the Ginger Hackel website in Bartonville, Texas and tell me if this worker is wearing the approved self-contained breathing apparatus as recommended by MSDS sheets.

Remember that industry “claims” all those vapors during hydraulic fracturing are really just sand but we know that’s not the truth because we have lived through it.

LET US PRETEND

• Let’s pretend we never saw all the warnings to use protective breathing gear on the MSDS sheets posted HERE.
• Let’s pretend <-cough, cough-> none of those potentially lethal chemicals ever gets into the air.
• Let’s pretend those vapors are only the sand used for hydraulic fracturing.

BUT…What happens when workers breathe silica which is the sand used in hydraulic fracturing?

Silicosis

Silicosis, also known as Potter’s rot, is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in forms of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis, from pneumo (lung) and konis (dust).

Silicosis (particularly the acute form) is characterized by shortness of breath, cough, fever, and cyanosis (bluish skin). It may often be misdiagnosed as pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), pneumonia, or tuberculosis.

UPDATE from the comments:

Link between man’s cancer, frac’ing fluids questioned
Local man dies of cancer; family believes work with gas drilling fluids was the cause

In May of this year, Lara told a Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reporter that he had worked at the job for about six years, and that the fumes at times would be overpowering as he power-washed the tanks, after they were returned by the drilling companies once the frac’ing process was completed.

Maria Lara told the Post Independent on Sept. 23 that her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late December of 2009.

Lara, who knew he was sick before getting the diagnosis, stopped working after receiving the news, Maria said, but did not get any monetary assistance from his former employer.

Rain For Rent officials could not be reached for comment.

Several Barnett Shale workers have told me stories about being forced to wash out the frack tanks without protective gear. Apparently it is standard operating procedure.

Oil And Gas Industry May Sue OSHA Over Flame-Resistant Clothing Requirement

TELL CONGRESS TO MAKE ALL GAS DRILLERS OBEY THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT