Hazmat-suit Wearing San Diego Protesters to Urge California Coastal Commission to Halt Offshore Fracking

Highlight dangers of dumping fracking chemicals into the ocean

SAN DIEGO, California— As the California Coastal Commission meets in San Diego, hazmat suit-wearing protesters with SanDiego350 and the Center for Biological Diversity will urge commissioners to halt fracking to protect the state’s precious oceans, wildlife, and beaches.



Protesters want the Coastal Commission to stop oil companies from fracking offshore wells and dumping dangerous fracking chemicals directly into California’s ocean. Offshore fracking involves blasting water and industrial chemicals into the sea-floor at pressures high enough to crack geologic formations and release oil and gas.



"Every offshore frack job increases the toxic threat to California's fragile ocean ecosystems," said Miyoko Sakashita, the Center for Biological Diversity's Oceans Program Director.



“Our beaches and coastal cities are some of the gems of San Diego tourism,” said Peg Mitchell, Fracking Campaign Leader for SanDiego350. “We can’t afford any risks to our local economy, nor can the marine life sustain any further damage to their waters”.



What:            
Protest against offshore fracking outside California Coastal Commission meeting



When:           
Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 10 a.m.
           


Where:          
Catamaran Resort, 3999 Mission Blvd., San Diego



Oil companies have fracked hundreds of wells off California’s coast, and about half the oil platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel discharge wastewater into the sea. The oil industry has federal permission to annually dump more than 9 billion gallons of wastewater, including toxic fracking fluid, directly into the ocean off California’s coast.



A recent Center for Biological Diversity analysis of 12 frack jobs in California waters found that at least one-third of chemicals used in these fracking operations are suspected ecological hazards. Drawing on data disclosed by oil companies, the Center also found that more than a third of these chemicals are suspected of affecting human developmental and nervous systems.



Because of the dangerously high pressures involved, fracking also increases the risk of a catastrophic accident like the 1969 oil spill that contaminated hundreds of miles of shoreline from Santa Barbara to the Silver Strand here in San Diego. 

SanDiego350.org, an all-volunteer organization, is concerned about climate change and its very real effects on our livelihoods, well-being, and the future for our children. We work to increase awareness of climate change and advocate for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are loosely affiliated with 350.org, the international climate organization, whose work inspires us.