Case Study 2b) X-ray overdose

A linear electron accelerator for therapeutic use was built as a dual-mode system that could either produce X-rays or electron beams. It had been in successful use for some time, but every now and then some patients received high overdoses, resulting in painful after-effects and several

deaths. One patient on a repeat visit experienced great pain, but the remotely located operator was unaware of any problem because of lack of communication between them: The intercom was broken, and the video monitor had been unplugged. There also was no way for the patient to

exit the examination chamber without help from the outside, and hence the hospital was partly at fault. On cursory examination of the machine, the manufacturer insisted that the computerized and automatic control system could not possibly have malfunctioned and that no one should spread unproven and potentially libelous information about the design. It was the painstaking, day-and-night effort of the hospitals physicist that finally traced the problem to a software error introduced by the manufacturers efforts to make the machine more user-friendly.

Task 2b):

Identify the potential moral problem.

Case Study 2c) Artificial lung

A team of engineers are redesigning an artificial lung marketed Professionalism by their company. They are working in a highly competitive market, with long hours and high stress. The engineers have little or no contact with the firms customers, and they are focused on technical problems, not people. It occurs to the project engineer to invite recipients of artificial lungs and their families to the plant to talk about how their lives were affected by the artificial lung. The change is immediate and striking: When families began to bring in their children who for the first time could breathe freely, relax, learn, and enjoy life because of the firms product, it came

as a revelation. The workers were energized by concrete evidence that their efforts really did improve peoples lives, and the morale of the workplace was given a great lift.

Task 2c):

Comment on why you think simple human contact made such a large difference. What does it say about what motivated the engineers, both before and after the encounter?

Case Study 2d) Computer manufacturing

A chemical engineer working in the environmental division of a computer manufacturing firm learns that her company might be discharging unlawful amounts of lead and arsenic into the city sewer. The city processes the sludge into a fertilizer used by local farmers. To ensure the safety of both the discharge and the fertilizer, the city imposes restrictive laws on the discharge of lead and arsenic. Preliminary investigations convince the engineer that the company should implement stronger pollution controls, and Codes of Ethics but her supervisor tells her the cost of doing so is prohibitive and that technically the company is in compliance with the law. She is also scheduled to appear before town officials to testify in the matter.

Task 2c):

What should she do?