Vidic 2:00
L13
ENGINEERING ETHICS: PROVIDE ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER
Shirley Tang (sht50@pitt.edu)
CHALLENGES
There are currently 14 “Grand Challenges” of
engineering; selected by the National Academy of
Engineering. These grand challenges were chosen based
on the four broad realms of human concern:
sustainability, health, vulnerability, and joy of living. The
solutions to these challenges will require a combination of
reason, science, aesthetics of art, and a creative
imagination. Although every single challenge on the list is
vital and must be resolved by engineers, I believe that
providing access to clean water poses the most immediate
threat to the human concerns listed above. Water is used
for nearly everything: hydration, cooking, cleaning,
agriculture, and many other activities. The continuation
and growth of water scarcity could not only lead to the
devastation of the global economy, but also to diseases
caused by contamination of water and the loss of the lives
of millions of people. This potential disaster can be
combated by desalination; a process that filters water to
induce separation from other particles. This process is
controversial because of high monetary and energy costs
and its large amount of waste. Controversy poses a
problem for engineers working on this problem, as they
must follow a code of ethics set forth by the National
Society of Professional Engineers. Before taking any
action, the engineer must check the NSPE Code of Ethics
to make sure that he or she “serves the public interest” [1]
The linking of ethics and solutions to a grand challenge
provides a valuable experience for the freshman engineer,
as it allows him or her to take into account all aspects and
perspectives when deciding which solutions are most
practical and successful.
substances. Water is pumped into a station and treated to
remove non dissolved particles. After this stage is
completed, pressure greater than equilibrium is applied to
the water, allowing it to flow through a semipermeable
membrane from the more concentrated side to the less
concentrated side. The concentrated saltwater then comes
out and is discarded as reject. [3]
Membrane desalination is favored over other water
filtering techniques because the pressure from the
concentrated saltwater is converted into energy and can be
reused for the next process, allowing for energy savings.
Also, membrane technology is constantly improving, and
advances have made membrane filtering more efficient,
which will save energy and require less pressure.
Some argue that desalination techniques are not yet
efficient enough to be effective, because the energy costs
are very high. It is estimated that an acre foot of
desalinated water is 450 per million liters compared to 35
from ground water, not including distribution costs [4].
Also, there are negative environmental factors associated
with the process. When the water is filtered, the highly
concentrated saltwater is often dumped back into the
ocean, which is lethal for most sea creatures [5]. If this
problem isn’t remedied, marine life could be in jeopardy,
which would also disrupt the ecosystem.
Engineers, when evaluating desalination as a
process, must take both the positive and the negative
effects into consideration. When assessing effects, the
engineer must take into account the Code of Ethics
associated with the project, and confirm that the
continuation of the project does not violate any of the
Code of Ethics.
WATER SCARCITY
CODE OF ETHICS
Although our planet is covered with water, only about
1%, of the water is both accessible and available for use
[2]. Most of the freshwater, in fact, is beneath the ground.
There is a large amount of water available, but it is mostly
in oceans and seas, and would pose health risks to those
who consume it. One of the most promising water
purification techniques is desalination, which removes
salt and other minerals from water. This technique has the
ability to produce water that could be used by people for
consumption, agriculture, and other necessary activities.
Each engineer must abide by codes of ethics set forth by
the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE),
and those set forth by the specific branch of engineering
of that engineer. These guidelines describe rules of
practice of engineers and their professional obligations.
Depending on the specific issue or project, different
canons and codes will be utilized. [1]
The 1st Canon of the NSPE code of ethics states that
engineers must hold paramount the safety, health, and
welfare of the public. The first code of this canon
continues on to declare that “if an engineer’s judgment is
overruled under circumstances that endanger life or
property, they shall notify their employer”. This code is
important for engineers working on desalination to abide
by, because if a mistake is made during the process of
THE PROCESS OF DESALINATION
Membrane desalination, also known as reverse osmosis,
uses a filtering process to separate the water from other
University of Pittsburgh
Swanson School of Engineering
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October 28, 2010
Shirley Tang
desalinating water, the water could still be not clean
enough for consumption or other uses by people.
However, if the engineer does not notify his or her higher
management about the mistake, the unsafe water could be
distributed to people. Those people would then utilize the
water and be at risk for negative effects of the water such
as illness or the death of crops.
Canon 3: Code 1 of the Professional Obligations
section of the NSPE code of ethics states that engineers
should “avoid the use of statements containing a material
misrepresentation of fact or omitting a material fact.”
Truthfulness is extremely important in the issue of
desalination, as two of the largest issues of desalination
are its effect on the environment and its monetary cost. If,
when presenting facts about a desalination plant to a
community in which the plant may be constructed, and
descriptions of its total cost or negative effects on the
environment are left out or distorted, the community may
vote to implement the plant, not knowing its full
consequences. When the plant is created, whether it is
more expensive than anticipated, less environmentally
friendly, or any other unexpected factor, the engineer has
violated Canon 2 of the Professional Obligations;
“Engineers must strive at all times to serve the public
interest.”
According to Code 5 of the Society of
Environmental Engineers (E) Code of Ethics, members
must “assess relevant risks and liability and, if
appropriate, hold professional indemnity insurance.” [6]
Because desalination is not a perfect process, its risks and
liabilities must be analyzed and, if possible, dealt with.
This way, if there is a problem in the middle of a
desalination procedure, it will not catch the engineer off
guard, and a solution can be utilized. Also, if the risks are
discovered and assessed before the plant is created, those
physically creating and using the results of the plants can
be notified and be aware of the risks associated with the
plant.
The intention of a code of ethics is to help engineers
decide “right” from “wrong” in each of their actions.
Failure to adhere to the guidelines renders an engineer
liable for disciplinary action. Because disciplinary action
can have an extremely negative effect on the engineer and
those involved with his or her project, it is very helpful
for freshman engineers to familiarize themselves with
several codes of ethics, as they will be aware of the
“rules” of engineering before they have a chance to break
any of them. Applying these rules to specifically chosen
challenges is also very useful because the freshman
engineer will be aware of the kinds of challenges faced by
the profession that they are studying to go into.
on the topic of desalination, but also has developed
research techniques and skills. Through this project, I
have learned how to search for articles with the resources
available. Also, I have learned how to identify articles
that are more relevant and useful to the task than others.
This research done has also deepened the
understanding of the kinds of problems faced by
engineers. All of the 14 Grand Challenges have had one
common goal: to ensure the future [2]. Whether the grand
challenge focuses on utilizing solar energy, purifying
water, improving human health, or more technical issues,
it deals with continuing to make the Earth habitable
amidst growing problems with disease, security, and
depletion of resources. Through this project, I now
understand also that even if an engineering project isn’t
one of the “grand challenges”, its purpose is to make a
more livable place for people.
This project has also introduced the concept of a
code of ethics for engineers; an idea for which, prior to
investigating, I had little to no understanding of. After
reading through the codes, understanding them, and
applying them, I began to make connections between the
guidelines set forth by the codes and the solutions to
issues of desalination.
APPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Studying an engineering challenge as an aspiring engineer
greatly improves understanding of the traits required of an
engineer. In the case of the challenge of “Providing
Access to Clean Water”, I was able to study the kinds of
processes that are used to purify water, use my own skills
to pick the process that I thought was the best for the
particular challenge, study its advantages and
disadvantages, and then propose solutions to the
disadvantages. Applying the “Code of Ethics of
Engineering” to the solutions also helped deepen
understanding of the necessity of having guidelines to
engineering decisions and actions. This project, as a
whole, deepened my understanding of engineering.
REFERENCES
[1] (2007, July) “NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers” National Society
of
Professional
Engineers
[Online]
Available:
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html
[2] (2010) “Provide Access to Clean Water” National Academy of
Engineering Grand Challenges for Engineering [Online] Available:
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9142.aspx
[3] B. Kowitt, K. Thai (2009, October 12) “The Future of Water”
Fortune Vol. 160 Issue 7 p 111-116
[4] (2007, April 25) “Desalination Too Expensive for Water Company”
Professional Engineering p 5
[5] P. Brannan (2008 March/April) “Debunking Desalination” E – The
Environmental Magazine Vol. 19 Issue 2 p 16-18
[6] (2007, January 17) “Code of Conduct for Members of the Society of
Environmental Engineers” E: Society of Environmental Engineers.
[Online] Available: http://environmental.org.uk/index.php?page=codeof-coduct
USEFULNESS OF RESEARCH
The research done on the Engineering Grand Challenge
writing project has not only been extremely informative
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Shirley Tang
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
S. Shankman (2009 July 9) “California Gives Desalination Plants a
Fresh Look = Process to Make Seawater Drinkable Gains Traction, but
Environmentalists Object to Heavy energy use, Harm to Marine Life”
Wall Street Journal p A4
J. Zachary, C.M. Layman (2010 May) “Adding Desalination to Solar
Hybrid and Fossil Plants” Power Vol. 154 Issue 5 p 104-112
(2008, February) “Introduction to the Grand Challenges for
Engineering” National Academy of Engineering [Online] Available:
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/challenges.aspx
M. F. Cox, O. Cekic, S.G. Adams (2010) “Developing Leadership Skills
of Undergraduate Engineering Students” Journal of STEM Education
Vol. 11 Issue 3/4 p 22-23
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the staff at the Bevier Engineering
Library for helping me find available sources to complete
this project. I would also like to thank my parents for
teaching me technical writing techniques.
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