Budny, 4:00
L15
THE ETHICS OF ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES
Dante Cavallucci (dac162@pitt.edu)
THE SCENARIO
Batteries are used in nearly every electronic device today
in America. They are used in everything from cell phones to
cars to TV remotes. They do their job extremely well and last
a long time. The problem with batteries comes with their
disposal. The elements and chemicals that they are made of
are highly toxic to humans and can cause a multitude of
problems. When batteries are thrown into household trash
cans, they inevitably end up in landfills. Batteries corrode
over time in these trash dumps and begin to leak toxic
chemicals [1]. Some of the chemicals batteries leak include:
cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, and lithium [1]. These
chemicals can be carried by soil into underground rivers and
streams that will eventually be carried out into the ocean [1].
The chemicals the battery releases can also be trapped in the
landfills. They are all highly reactive, especially lithium,
which could cause them to catch fire and burn in the landfills,
thereby releasing more of the chemicals into the air [1]. As an
engineer, the challenge presented would be to create batteries
that are rechargeable, recyclable, and more environmentally
friendly. Some of the organizations that would be involved in
trying to create a better battery are the Portable Rechargeable
Battery Association (PRBA), The Battery Council, and The
American Chemical Society. All of these organizations are
advocates for better batteries. Batteries are starting to replace
gas-powered motors and are beginning to become more and
more popular. The major problem with batteries is disposing
of them. When disposed of, they can release poisonous toxins.
The ethical dilemma I came up with, will examine the risks of
releasing a battery with deadly side effects.
I am a mechanical engineer at a large motor vehicle
company called INNI. At INNI, I work in the research and
development department. Due to my outstanding education, I
have been selected to lead the development of a newer,
cleaner, and cheaper electric car battery. In my research, I
have designed a battery that appears to have met all of those
requirements. The problem is, I have not been able to conduct
enough tests. I meet with my boss at the end of the week to
tell him the news. He is elated. He tells me to begin production
immediately and to not worry about finishing my trials. He
explains that our company would be the first to offer an
electric car with a state-of-the-art battery. He also says that
this breakthrough is expected to lead to a massive increase in
profits. He then tells me that I will receive a major pay raise
and a huge promotion if I release the battery immediately. I
am unsure of what to do. He mentions that I could be
remembered as an inventor of the same caliber as Thomas
Edison and Henry Ford. I could begin production of the
battery while risking major problems because it did not go
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
2015-11-03
through proper safety procedures, or I could continue to test
my battery to make sure there truly are no negative effects.
ETHICS
In this situation I would have to consult the ethical codes
set up by the National Society of Professional Engineers
(NSPE) as well as the ethical codes set up by the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). I will need to
check both of these codes to make sure I am making the
ethically correct decision. I will also take a look at the risks
versus the rewards of the situation. I am confident that my
battery will work as it should, but there are still signs of doubt
that I may have to recall the battery after I am finished with
my tests.
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERS
The NSPE code is broken up into six basic fundamentals
and 2 other sections. The main idea of these sections is that
engineers should operate honorably. This means engineers
should take into account the safety of the public and the
environment, avoid deceptive acts, and only perform services
in areas of their competence [2]. As an engineer, it would be
my duty to follow these codes to the best of my ability. My
boss is asking me to break several parts of the code stated by
NSPE by asking me to release the new battery cell
immediately. The most obvious code I would be breaking is
the very first one stated by NSPE. By releasing the new
battery cell without fully testing it, I would not be holding
paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public [2]. I
would be putting the lives of many people at risk because I
would not know if the battery was one-hundred percent safe
until I was able to perform more tests.
This is similar to a case study that where there was a delay
in addressing fire code violations. In that situation, building
fire codes were found to be not up to date and were not
reported to the appropriate authorities [3]. This could have led
to a great loss of life if a fire occurred in the building similar
to how lives could be lost if my battery has unknown faults.
If my battery design would be released and were to fail, I
would be held personally responsible by section eight of the
NSPE code [2]. Section eight states that “engineers shall
accept personal responsibility for their professional activities”
[2]. This shows that the performance of my product, good or
bad, is a reflection of my abilities and decisions as an
engineer, which means that if my battery performs well, I
would receive praise and other possible rewards similar to
what my boss mentioned. However, if it had any harmful
effects, I would get fired for allowing the battery to be
1
Dante Cavallucci
engineering profession” [5]. My dishonesty about the battery
would not reflect well on the engineering profession. It would
lead to a great deal of negative press if I ever got exposed.
A case study that is similar to this is about a student who
changed his grades to get a job at a research institute. He knew
he was smarter than his test scores showed and believed he
could prove to the institute his abilities. He eventually got
caught when they do a background check and they don’t hire
him [6]. This study illustrates the consequences of being
dishonest.
Finally, my battery could break the eighth section of the
code if it leaks any harmful toxins. The eighth section of the
code states that “engineers shall consider environmental
impact and sustainable development” [5]. My battery contains
a much smaller amount of chemicals than a normal battery but
because I have not completed the tests; I do not know if they
will be contained by the battery’s casing. As with the NSPE
code, I will be breaking several components of the ASME
code if I release my battery immediately.
released without further testing. If I followed my orders, I
would be violating the first part of the third section of the
code. This part of the code is about professional obligations.
The initial duty states that engineers shall be guided in all their
relations by the highest standards of honesty and integrity [2].
By installing the battery into cars, it would show that I have
low integrity and that I am not very honest. This action breaks
the code and would also hurt my chances at another job in the
future because I am now known as someone who is not
trustworthy.
There is another case study that took place that is
comparable to my situation. In this case study, an error lead
to 25,000 units of wiring to not be produced up to code. If
they were to be fixed and sold, the company would exceed the
profit margin by far [4]. With this knowledge, there are three
decisions to make that rely on a person’s integrity to make the
right decision. The choices are: sell them as is knowing they
aren’t up to code, scrap them and take the monetary loss, or
sell them to a country that has no electrical codes. In the study
they decide to take the monetary loss as it is in line with the
code of ethics [4]. This shows what would happen if I decide
to not release the battery because I would be losing money but
I would be making society safer.
Finally, I am going against one of the clauses in the final
section that describes exactly what I should do in this
situation. The clause is under the professional obligations
section and under the public interest sub section. It says
“engineers shall not complete plans and or specifications that
are not in conformity with applicable engineering standards”
[2]. The same clause then goes on to say how I should deal
with the situation. It says that I should “notify proper
authorities and withdraw from further service on the project”
[2]. These clauses illustrate exactly how I should handle this
situation. They give me a step-by-step guide which would
make it extremely easy to report my boss and get him fired.
But if I report my boss, I would not receive all the fame and
glory that would come with releasing my battery. By going
through with my boss’ plan, I would not be fulfilling my
professional obligations stated in the code created by NSPE.
MY DECISION
Now that I have familiarized myself with the engineering
codes of ethics, I know that what my boss is asking me to do
is extremely wrong and some of the punishments are very
severe. But, by withholding the battery until the trials are
done, I could miss out on a huge opportunity to further my
career, make some major money, and if I’m lucky, I could go
down as one of the greatest inventors of all time. When I make
my decisions I believe a pros and cons list is a great asset. It
is a way to make sure I know exactly what the consequences
of my decision are. I will be making this list in the situation
that I have decided to release the battery early as my boss
instructed.
PROS
I will begin by taking a look at the positive effects that
could occur if I decide to release the battery. My battery
design would revolutionize the electric car market by making
electric cars cheaper and more accessible. This is similar to
how Henry Ford initially made automobiles accessible to the
general public. My boss has promised me a massive pay
increase. He said depending on how successful the battery is,
I could be make quadruple what I make now in addition to the
royalties I would receive from each battery sold. He also
offered to promote me to the head of the entire research and
development department. The electric vehicle market is
already over two billion dollars and has been steadily
increasing over the past couple years [7]. If this trend
continues, I would be in a position to make millions of dollars.
These monetary incentives might be too good to pass up.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL
ENGINEERS
In this scenario, I am acting as a mechanical engineer. This
means the code of ethics created by the ASME would need to
be applied to this situation as well. ASME’s code is very
similar to NSPE’s code except that it is much shorter in length
and much less specific. ASME’s code also focuses more on
integrity, honor, and honesty than NSPE’s. My boss is asking
me to break two of the first three fundamental principles of
the code. By releasing the battery I would not be honest and
impartial which breaks the second fundamental principle [5].
I would not be honest because I did not inform the public that
my design was not finished testing. This would then break the
third fundamental principle which states that “mechanical
engineers must strive to increase the prestige of the
2
Dante Cavallucci
CONS
[4] “Scenarios in Business and Engineering Settings”. (2013).
Online
Ethics.
(Case
Study).
http://www.onlineethics.org/Topics/LegalIssues/LegalEssay
s/speakersguide/speakersguide_scenarios.aspx
If my battery would fail, there would be numerous
repercussions. According to an article on ethics in the
workplace, if an employee is caught for dishonesty on this
type of scale, he would be fired immediately [8]. This means
I would lose my job and my source of income which would
bring hard times onto my family. In an article on the penalties
of distributing a product not up to code, it states that
companies could be fined over seventy million dollars [9].
This would be a major blow to our company and to me
because our company policy says I would be responsible for
twenty-five percent of the fine. That is because I knew the
product was not up to code and chose to distribute it anyways.
If my product fails, I would be ruining my career and putting
my family into substantial financial debt.
[5] “Society Policy and Code of Ethics”. (2012). American
Society of Mechanical Engineers. (Online Article).
https://www.asme.org/getmedia/9EB36017-FA98-477E8A73-77B04B36D410/P157_Ethics.aspx
[6] “Honesty’s Always the Best Policy”. (2011). Web Guru.
(Case
Study).
http://www.webguru.neu.edu/professionalism/casestudies/honestys-always-best-policy
[7] J. Ayre. (2015). “Electric Car Demand Growing”. Clean
Technica.
(Online
Article).
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/28/ev-demand-growingglobal-market-hits-740000-units/
MY CHOICE
Now that I know the consequences of each choice, I can
make the right decision. The ramifications of my battery
being faulty are too much. If my battery failed it would be
extremely difficult to get my family back on their feet again.
We would go into massive debt due to the fine and with my
record of dishonesty, it would be incredibly difficult to get a
new high paying job to start working off some of the debt. I
would have to delay the release of my battery until I finish
testing it. I would also be ethically obligated to report my
boss’ request to a superior. I would be acting in accordance
with the codes established by the professional engineers and I
would be making the morally correct decision. By
withholding my battery, I could be saving lives and I would
still have a chance to finish the battery first and receive the
glory for inventing the new battery. I would advise other
engineers in this situation to choose the ethical decision and
not release the product. The fortune and fame that could
potentially come with releasing the product is not worth the
risk. People’s lives should not be put at risk just to make
money.
[8] S. McKelvey. (2013). “Dealing With Dishonest
Employees”.
Lexology.
(Online
Article).
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e8c21cecd699-4cc8-96fc-4bc0c38b8b37
[9] “The Importance of Honesty in Employment Background
Checks”. (2013). Simply Hired. (Online Article.)
http://www.simplyhired.com/blog/jobsearch/job-searchtips/importance-honesty-employment-background-checks/
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
“About PRBA”. (2010). The Rechargeable Battery
Association. (Online Article). (http://www.prba.org/aboutprba/
“Recycling Batteries”. (2012). Battery Council International.
(Online
Article).
http://batterycouncil.org/?page=battery_recycling
REFERENCES
[1] K. Kattenburg. (2015). “What do Batteries do to the
Environment if not Properly Recycled?” Education Seattle.
(Online Article) http://education.seattlepi.com/batteriesenvironment-not-properly-recycled-3916.html
A. Scott (2015). “Challenging Lithium-Ion Batteries With
New Chemistry”. Chemical and Engineering News. (Online
Article).
http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i29/ChallengingLithium-Ion-Batteries-New.html
[2] “Code of Ethics”. (2007). National Society of Professional
Engineers.
(Online
Article).
http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the fellow students in my residence
hall for helping me format my essay. I would like to thank my
writing instructor Josh Lapekas for assisting me with my
essay. Finally, I would like to thank my roommate Justin
Anderson for encouraging me to work hard and keeping me
focused.
[3] “Public Health and Safety—Delay in Addressing Fire
Code Violations”. (2014). National Society of Professional
Engineers.
(Case
Study).
http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/BER%20Case%20No
%2013-11-FINAL.pdf
3