CASE 4:

ENVIRONMENT CONCERN

You are an environmental engineer for one of the many local plants. That plant discharges effluents

into a lake in a flourishing tourist area. Although all the plants are marginally profitable, they compete

for the same customers. Your responsibilities are to monitor the water and air discharges at your plant

and the periodic reporting to Dept. of Anti-pollution. You have just prepared a report that indicates that

the level of pollution in the Plant's water discharges slightly exceed the legal limits. Your supervisor

says you should regard the excess as a mere 'technicality', and he asks you to 'adjust' the data so that

the data appears to be in compliance. He says that slight excess is not going to endanger human or fish

life any more than if the plant were actually in compliance. However he says, solving the problem

would require a very heavy investment. He explains, "We can not afford new equipments. It might cost

even a few jobs. It will set us behind our competitors. Besides, he says that many of the competitors are

doing the same and the bad publicity we would get might scare off some of the tourist industry, making

it worse for everybody"

1.what are your basic responsibilities as an environmental enjineer in this plant ?how should you respond to your supervisors request ?what are the ethical issues in this case?

2.consider the same scenario from the view point of the plant manager of the company,the chief excutive officer ,environmental engineer of the competitors,department of anti pollution,local merchants,parentsof chilledren who swim in the lake,those who fish in the lake?

3.should your ideas as environmental engineer change as you take in to these different view points?what should you do ,from 'all things considered'perspective,as environmental engineer?