The following details have been supplied by the TUC:
The UK government plans to allow fracking companies to put “any substance” under people’s homes and property and leave it there, under an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill debated by the House of Lords this week.
The government said the change was part of a package of controversial measures “vital to kickstarting” shale gas exploration. Chemical exposures during fracking operations in the US have been linked to a number deaths.
Tony Bosworth of Friends of the Earth said the amendment would allow companies to dispose of fracking fluid, often contaminated with toxic metals and radioactive elements. “The government appears to be trying to sneak through an amendment which would allow fracking firms to reinject their waste under people’s homes and businesses. Reinjection has caused countless problems in the US and you have to question how far this government will go to make fracking a reality.”
