On March 4 a concerned Fullerton resident named Sherri Davison announced during the public comments period of a meeting of the Fullerton City Council that five oil wells in the city are being “acidized.” The processes of acidizing and fracturing to increase accessibility of fossil fuels deep underground are controversial nationwide. Fracturing, or “fracking,” as it has become known, has been blamed for everything from poisoned water supplies to earthquakes. The process involves shooting chemicals into rock to break it up in order to access hard to reach fossil fuels deep below. Acidizing is the practice of flushing corrosive acids into wells to dissolve sediments in order to increase the permeability of rocks deep in the ground, releasing crude fossil fuels. As oil and natural gas become harder to find drillers are using fracking and acidizing more often.

Neither process sounds safe to many people, including the National Climate Lobby and a host of other groups urging bans on fracking and acidizing in states and cities across the country. The City of Los Angeles recently instituted a moratorium on acidizing wells.

On March 15 the North Orange County branch of the National Climate Lobby and the Brea Congregational Church will host an event at Rolling Hills Park to ‘raise awareness of the dangers of “fracking” and “acidizing.”’

The site was chosen because of its close proximity to an oil spill in a creek at the corner of Bastanchury Rd. and St. College Blvd. in early January. The organizers are asking the following questions:

Do the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals used in fracking and acidizing pose a threat to our health, water or air?

Does using millions of gallons of water per oil well make sense in a state experiencing severe drought?

Were toxic chemicals released into the air or dumped into Fullerton Creek in the Jan. 2-6 oil spill?

Why did it take crews in hazmat suits four days to clean up the creek and how do we know if it is safe now?

Is the water leak at Mountain View Park connected to the acidizing of the wells?

These dangerous chemicals are being trucked in on our streets. Are police and fire depts. prepared in case of an accident?

Saturday, March 15, 9:00 a.m. – Noon. Rolling Hills Park. Attendees are asked to park on Bastanchury Blvd. between St. College and Brea Blvd.