Ethics in Engineering:
Environment & Research
The Engineer’s
Responsibility to the
Environment
From the ASME Code of Ethics, The Code of
Canons #8:
“Engineers shall consider environmental
impact in the performance of their
professional duties.”
Source: www.ASME.org
The National
Environmental Policy Act
was passed by Congress in
1969
Extremely important and influential environmental law.
Some excerpts [1]:
“a national policy which will encourage productive
and enjoyable harmony between man and his
environment”
“assure for all Americans safe, healthful,
productive, and aesthetically and culturally pleasing
surroundings”
Mandated the environmental impact statement
Led Congress to create the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)
1. Source: 42 United States Code (USC) sect. 4331 (1982) Note 20
What Does This Mean to the Engineer?
Most environmental laws focus on
making the environment ‘clean’, or
free from many pollutants
What does ‘clean’ mean?
In Engineering Ethics Concepts and
Cases, Harris, Pritchard, & Rabins
consider the following definitions
of ‘clean’:
Source: Harris, Pritchard, & Rabin, 2009, Engineering Ethics Concepts
and Cases, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Chapter 9
1. Comparative Criterion
The environment
is clean if it
imposes no
greater threat to
human life or
health than do
other risks
Example:
What if the levels
of pollution
currently accepted
are too high?
Workers should
not expect
working conditions
to be safer than
the drive to and
from work
2. Normalcy Criterion
The environment is
clean if the
pollutants present
in it are normally
present in nature
to the same
degree
The levels of
pollution in nature
vary and may
sometimes be
accepted only
because they are
unavoidable
Example:
Radiation levels far
exceeding the
norm are currently
acceptable in parts
of Japan
3. Optimal-Pollution Reduction Criterion
The environment is
clean if funds required
to reduce pollution
further could be used
in other ways that
would produce more
overall human wellbeing
Example:
Consider that costs
and benefits may be
unfairly distributed
The funds required to
reduce a pollutant
further would save
more lives if used
elsewhere
4. Maximum Protection Criterion
The environment is
clean only if any
identifiable risk from
pollution that poses a
possible risk has
been eliminated
(given technology
and applicable laws)
The rigidity of this
criterion may require
elimination of many
substances whose
toxicity is doubtful or
extremely limited
Example:
Cell phones?
5. Demonstrable Harm Criterion
The environment is
clean if every
pollutant that is
demonstrably
harmful to human
health has been
eliminated
Some pollutants
are harmful in
different levels to
different people, or
not harmful at low
levels
Example:
Wallow fire smoke:
Cost prohibitive,
and impossible
Consider a Degree-of-Harm Criterion
If pollutants pose a clear and perhaps pressing
threat to human health
They must be REDUCED BELOW REASONABLE
THRESHOLD OF HARM
Cost cannot be considered a significant factor
If harm is irreversible, PREVENTION gets the
priority
Where does this leave the
engineer?
Consider all implications
Obtain additional information
and opinions where needed
Make informed decisions
Do not forget personal principles
Fracking Case Study – Discussion
Ethics in Research
 Professional societies provide guidelines
 Example: American Institute of Aeronautics &
Astronautics
 Member of the Publications Committee Ethics
Subcommittee
 Typically cases involve some aspect of
plagiarism
 May involve intellectually property
 Who owns your research?
 May be a cultural issue – all countries do not
follow the same guidelines
 May be misunderstanding
 May be an error (did I cite everything
properly?)