Ethical Dilemmas . (Quoted from Engineering Ethics by CHARLES B. FLEDDERMANN University of New Mexico)

Cellular Phones and Cancer:

This case will seem different from many of the other cases we will study, since there is no disaster or wrongdoing that has to be analyzed after the fact. Rather, this is a case about the experimental nature of engineering and deals with issues of what engineers should do early in the design cycle for a new product or system in order to avoid possible harm to customers or the public in general. It also deals with what engineers should do after a product has been released when possible dangers are brought up. Concerns about potential adverse health effects of cell phones began in 1992 with a lawsuit fi led in Florida. In this suit, David Reynard claimed that his wifes fatal brain cancer had been caused by her use of a cell phone. Although the suit was dismissed in 1995 due to a lack of scientific evidence to support Reynards claim, this and other similar suits received a great deal of media attention and caused some concern among frequent cell phone users. The possible problems with cell phones are clear. In using a cell phone, you are placing a source of electromagnetic radiation in close proximity to your brain. It doesnt take much imagination to see the potential for problems: Microwave ovens use electromagnetic radiation to cook food. Of course, cell phones operate at a different frequency and at much lower power levels than do microwave ovens, but the analogy is clear. The human body evolved in an environment that did not contain significant levels of radiofrequency (rf) radiation, so it is plausible that the ubiquity of rf fi elds in our modern industrial world might cause some adverse health effects. The biological effects of rf energy have been studied for many years. Some of the early studies go back to the 1940s. What types of studies related to exposure to rf radiation have been performed? Typically, these were epidemiological studies and were retrospective looks at people who have used cell phones. The goal of these studies was to try to determine the levels of exposure to rf radiation from cell phones of every person in the study and to try to correlate the levels with subsequent health effects, especially cancers. While the studies all generally indicated that there is no harm in cell phone use, problems remain. Many of the problems are due to the fact that the studies relied on self-reporting of cell phone use. They asked people to report how much time they spent talking on their phones. Many people reported their phone use accurately, but many others either didnt really know how much they used their phones or misestimated their use. Epidemiological studies are also difficult to analyze, since it is hard to know the power levels each individual has been exposed to. The power emitted by the phone depends on what model of phone you use and how far you are from the base station while talking. Also, brain cancers generally take a long time to develop. There may not have been enough time since the widespread use of cell phones for a significant number of cancers to have developed. Solid links between cell phone use and brain cancers might not show up for another 10 to 20 years. 3 Studies have also been performed on laboratory animals. Typically, these are done by placing the animals in an environment containing rf fi elds designed to mimic those of cell phones. Like the epidemiological studies, the research studies on laboratory animals have not indicated any significant increase in health problems for the animals. Of course, since laboratory animals are not humans, the results may not be directly applicable to humans. There have been some studies of the effects of rf radiation on laboratory tissue and cell cultures. The results of these studies and their applicability to human health are controversial. Some theoretical studies have examined how rf energy might be deposited into a human brain during cell phone use. These studies are very difficult to benchmark because it is difficult to make measurements of energy deposition directly into a human brain. Studies of the biological effects of cell phones continue. In February of 2011, the New York Times reported [ Parker-Pope, 2011 ] the results of a study performed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. This study found that cell phone use leads to a 7% increase in brain activity in areas of the brain closest to the phones antenna. These results are significant because although the levels of radiation emitted by cell phones is low, nevertheless this radiation causes measurable effects on the human brain. How important this increase in brain activity is and how it might affect human health remains to be determined.

Questions: (5 Marks)

What does utilitarianism tell us about this case? What do rights and duty ethics tell us? Consider these questions from the point of view of a design engineer who must work on a product that might emit hazardous radiation. Which ethical theory applies best in this case? What does the code of ethics of the IEEE tell us about this case? (5 Marks)

Analyze this case by determining the factual issues, determining the conceptual issues, and deciding which moral issues apply. (10 Marks)

You are an engineer, .. it came to your office a case of radiation leaking from a cellular phone. The designer did not report this leaking case, apply the line drawing method to analyze this problem. Write your final ethical decision as based on engineering ethical principles.