Claim: Oil giant Baker Hughes donated $100,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and now plans to distribute 1000 pink drill bits.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2014]
Is it true that Komen Foundation received a $100,000 donation from an oil company that is making pink drill bits for fracking?
Origins: In October 2014, oil giant Baker Hughes announced it was donating $100,000 to the
This year, the company will paint and distribute a total of
For the second consecutive year, Baker Hughes is donating $100,000 to support
The news was met with a mixture of anger and confusion in some quarters. Mother Jones magazine, for instance, took issue with the donation, maintaining that one of the primary criticisms of fracking is that the practice injects carcinogenic chemicals into the environment:
Only adding to the irony is the fact that Komen's very own website, "Environmental Chemicals and Breast Cancer Risk," informs readers of "Common chemicals that may be associated with breast cancer," and some of the chemical categories listed are exactly those released when fracking.
The irony here is that one of the primary criticisms of fracking is that the fracking process injects possible and known carcinogens, including benzene, formaldehyde, and sulfuric acid, into the ground and surrounding environment. A 2011 senate investigation of
Breast Cancer Action (BCA), an organization dedicated to finding a cure, also noted that:
Fracking is the process of taking millions of gallons of water, mixing it with tens of thousands of gallons of chemicals and pumping the mixture underground at extreme pressure to break up rock formations and release oil or natural gas. Over
Some people found the partnership between the
Baker Hughes employees have supported women and men with breast cancer for many years through participation in
Last updated: 10 October 2014
 | Sources: |
Lurie, Julia. "Fracking Chemicals, Brought to You by Susan G. Komen." Mother Jones. 9 October 2014.
