Public Health, Safety, Welfare…
and the Environment—
Engineering Responsibilities
TSPE Bexar Chapter
San Antonio
1 October 2007
Ray W. James, P.E., Ph.D., r-james@tamu.edu
Some “Global” Environmental
Concerns
o Population growth, food production, water
o
o
o
o
supply and energy supplies
Global warming (the greenhouse effect)
The depletion of the ozone layer
The use of nuclear weapons
Asteroid/Earth impact
These problems have socio-political-economic as well
as technological aspects…
All but the last are closely related to population
growth...
World Population Trends
World Population (billions)
World Population Growth
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
Year
2000
2050
2100
Source: http://www.global-vision.org/un/strategy/index.html
2150
Resource over-consumption…
o 25% of the world’s people consume 75% of the
earth’s resources
o It is estimated that the lifestyles of North
Americans require 4.5 hectares of land per
capita (1 ha=10,000 m2=2.47 acres)
o If we wish to support all 6 billion people on the
earth at this resource level it would require the
equivalent of two additional earths
o Fortunately, technology improvements can
offset much of this shortfall, but engineers
should work to promote more efficient use of
resources
Some “Lesser” Environmental
Concerns
o Air, water, soil pollution
o Extinction of endangered species
o Loss of natural habitat
Importance of environmental
concerns to engineers
o Codes: We consider ourselves morally
responsible to make engineering decisions
that do not unduly damage the
environment
o Laws: We can be held legally responsible
under civil and criminal law for damage to
the environment (read about the Aberdeen
Three)
Codes of Ethics and the
Environment
o ASCE, IEEE, ASME codes of ethics
(among others) address the engineer’s
responsibilities to the environment
o ASCE: “Engineers shall hold paramount
the safety, health and welfare of the
public and shall strive to comply with the
principles of sustainable development in
the performance of their professional
duties.”
ASCE Canon 1
o “Engineers…shall strive to comply with the
principles of sustainable development…”
o …when their judgement is overruled under
circumstances where…the principles of sustainable
development are ignored, engineers “shall inform their
clients or employers…”
o …engineers who believe others have violated this canon
must inform proper authorities.
o …be active in civic affairs as well as in your job to protect
the environment through the practice of sustainable
development.
o …be committed to improving the environment…so as to
enhance the quality of life of the general public.
Sustainable development...
o In November 1996, the ASCE Board of
Direction adopted the following definition of
Sustainable Development: "Sustainable
Development is the challenge of meeting
human needs for natural resources, industrial
products, energy, food, transportation, shelter,
and effective waste management while
conserving and protecting environmental
quality and the natural resource base essential
for future development."
Sustainable development...
o Can it be considered sustainable
development to continue to use nonrenewable resources, such as fossil
fuels, until the supply is exhausted?
o Explain?
IEEE Canon 1
o Engineers should “accept
responsibility…to disclose promptly
factors that might endanger the public or
the environment.”
ASME Canon 8
o “Engineers shall consider environmental
impact in the performance of their
professional duties.”
Two forms of environmental concern...
o Concerns about aspects of
environmental degradation that affect the
health of people
o Water, food, energy supplies
o Air, water, soil pollution
o Concerns about aspects of
environmental damage that do not
(directly) affect the health of people
o Extinction of endangered species
o Development of “natural” space
Anthropocentric environmental ethics
o Since the public health/safety/welfare is
already a paramount focus of the Codes, it
should be obvious that the concerns that affect
the public health must be addressed by
engineers.
o If we do not address environmental concerns
on any other grounds, our approach is called
anthropocentric ethics.
o Anthropocentrism, or human-centeredness, is
believed by some to be the central problematic
concept in environmental philosophy, where it is
used to draw attention to a systematic bias in
traditional Western attitudes to the non-human world
(Naess 1973). (Wikipedia)
Anthropocentric ethics?
How many in this audience enjoy...
o Hunting or fishing?
o Other outdoor recreation (hiking, biking,
boating, camping, skiing,…)?
o Bird-watching (or observing other wildlife)?
o Nature (scenic drives, photography,
documentaries or travel shows on
television,…)?
o Isn’t it in our interests for these reasons to
embrace an ethics broader than anthropocentric
ethics?
Some related regional issues…
o Some habitat of the Navasota Ladies
Tresses will be taken by much-needed
widening of SH-6 between College
Station and Hempstead and by the new
SH-40 highway south of College Station.
Navasota Ladies’ Tresses
(endangered 1982)
Photo ©Paul Montgomery
The Navasota LadiesTresses orchid, once
thought to be extremely
rare, is now known in
about 100 locations in 10
counties. Some of these
locations in the BryanCollege Station area are
threatened by the rapid
development of these
cities.
Remediation of damage to
Navasota Ladies Tresses…
o For development of new SH-40, the
Texas DOT agreed to develop an
additional area to be designated as a
preserve and manage the habitat in a
way favorable to the plant.
o For widening of SH-6, funds were
provided to the Fish and Wildlife Service
to support preservation efforts.
Regional issues, cont’d...
o Continued demands on the Edwards
Aquifer by population growth along the
IH-35 corridor through central Texas
threaten the habitat of the Texas Blind
Salamander.
The Texas Blind Salamander
Texas Blind Salamander
(endangered 1967)
The Texas Blind
Salamander lives only in
water-filled caves of the
Edwards Aquifer near
San Marcos. It depends
on a constant supply of
clean, cool water from
the Edwards Aquifer.
Pollution and overuse of
water caused by the
growth of cities threaten
its survival.
Engineers vs. Environmentalists
(How it has been…)
o Historically, the relationship of engineers
(and industry) to environmentalists has
often been stereotyped as antagonistic…
o Hey, I like spotted owls…
…they taste just like chicken!
o My mom likes the Navasota Ladies Tresses…
…I picked her a big bouquet!
o That Texas Blind Salamander is really
colorful…
…he’ll probably make great fishbait!
Engineers vs. Environmentalists
(How it has been…)
o Because environmentalists’ concerns tend to
make our jobs as engineers more difficult we
grudgingly (referring to them as “tree huggers”)
deal with the various constraints arising from
environmental concerns (impact statements,
permits, etc…)
o Industry can cultivate this attitude, because these
concerns can reduce profits.
o A more enlightened approach has been
successful in many cases in demonstrating how
an environmentally friendly approach can
increase profits (and sustainability of business!)
Engineers as Environmentalists
(How it should be…)
o Our system of environmental protection is
in place because of the interests of all of
us. It affects the work of engineers more
than some others:
o we are obligated to protect our environment
because of health-centered concerns (the
earth is our life-support system),
o and we should also consider non-health
related concerns (we all enjoy nature).
The Northern Spotted Owl and the
Pacific Northwest logging industry
 Listed as threatened 1990
 Critical habitat designated
1992
 Northwest Forest plan 1994
 Draft Recovery Plan 2007
What environmental laws affect
engineering work?
o 1969 National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
o An Act to establish a national policy for the
environment, to provide for the establishment of a
Council on Environmental Quality…
o The purposes of this Act are: To declare a national policy
which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony
between man and his environment; to promote efforts
which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment
and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man;
to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and
natural resources important to the Nation; and to establish
a Council on Environmental Quality
o NEPA Mandates Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)
What environmental laws affect
engineering work?
o 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act
o Provides for standards limiting exposure to
toxic materials in the workplace
What environmental laws…?
(cont’d)
o 1970, ‘77,’90, Clean Air Act; ’97 revisions
o Requires priority on health concerns when
dealing with hazardous materials in the air
o Set goals for 90% reduction in auto emissions
1997 Changes to Clean Air Act
o Stricter Ozone limits:
o 8-hr average < 0.08 ppm
o previously 1-hr average < 0.12 ppm
o New methods of measuring particulate
matter smaller than 10 microns
o New limits on particulate matter smaller
than 2.5 microns (previously there were
no limits on particulate matter in this size
range)
1997 Changes to the Clean Air
Act (cont’d)
o EPA develops two standards for each
pollutant of concern:
o A primary standard based entirely on health-
related information, without considering the
costs of attaining the standard.
o A secondary standard includes effects on
soils, water, crops, vegetation, buildings,
property, animals, wildlife, weather, visibility,
transportation, and other economic values, as
well as personal comfort and well-being.
What environmental laws…?
(cont’d)
o 1972, ‘77, ‘86, ‘87, ‘90 Clean Water Act &
revisions
o Required discharge permits
o Set increasingly strict requirements for treating
water before discharge
Effects of the Clean Water Act
o In 1972:
o Sewage treatment plants served only 85
million people.
o Only one-third of the nation's waters were
safe for fishing and swimming.
o Today:
o Modern wastewater treatment facilities serve
173 million people.
o Two-thirds of the nation's waters are safe for
fishing and swimming.
Effects of the Clean Water Act
o In 1972:
o Wetlands losses were about 460,000 acres annually.
o Agricultural runoff resulted in the erosion of 2.25 billion
tons of soil and the deposit of large amounts of
phosphorus and nitrogen into many waters.
o Today:
o Wetlands losses are about 70,000-90,000 acres
annually.
o The amount of soil lost due to agricultural runoff has
been cut by one billion tons annually, and phosphorus
and nitrogen levels in water sources are down.
What Environmental Laws…?
(cont’d)
o 1976 Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act
o Regulates hazardous materials production,
transportation, storage, disposal by creation of
a “manifest” tracking system
o Read the case of the Aberdeen Three--three
chemical engineer-managers at the Aberdeen
Proving Grounds were convicted of violations
of this Act for improper handling of hazardous
materials by workers under their supervision.
What Environmental Laws…?
(cont’d)
o 1990 Pollution Prevention Act
o Provides EPA mandate to reduce pollution at
the source
The US has a strong global
influence
o Over 100 nations now have NEPA-type laws
o New environmental law is emerging in several
areas:
o Addressing threats to air, water and land
o Hazardous materials
o Products
o Resources
o Wildlife, fisheries, national parks, wildlife
sanctuaries, endangered species
The Kyoto treaty and reduction of
greenhouse gasses
Green=Countries that have ratified the treaty
Red=Countries that will not ratify the treaty
…but the decision of the US not to
ratify the Kyoto treaty does not
indicate a lack of action…
o The US acted in 1996 to restrict manufacture
of Freon 22; despite the Kyoto treaty, Mexico is
not restricted from manufacturing it
o A black market exists in the US, for this
product which at one time sold for more than
$30/lb (compare $1/lb before ban).
o “You name it, they’ve tried it,” says Marc
Gwaltney, a US Customs official in Los
Angeles, citing a taco stand in Tijuana where
“in addition to a taco, you could buy a one-
pound can of Freon, put it in your pocket, and
walk back across the border.”
Case Law Related to Engineering
and the Environment
o Various courts have found that…
o EPA must consider feasibility and practicality
of technology required by regulation; must
consider costs, but not necessarily balance
against benefits; must not impose costs
“grossly disproportionate” to the safety benefit
o “Safe” does not imply “risk-free”
o OSHA must show a substance poses
“significant” risk before it imposes regulation
How Clean is “Clean”?
o The law and regulations have helped us
establish subjective (and sometimes
quantitative) rationale for answering this
question, but many fundamental problems
remain…
o See Table 10.1 for discussions of 5 criteria
for “Clean”...
Some definitions of “clean”?
o Comparative criterion: a contaminant is
acceptable if it does not pose a greater risk
that those which we ordinarily accept
o Normalcy criterion: if the contaminant is
present in no greater degree than found
naturally, it is acceptable
o Optimal-pollution reduction: If funds
required to mitigate a contaminant could be
more effectively used on another problem,
the contaminant is acceptable
Definitions of “clean”, cont’d…
o Maximum protection criterion: The
environment is clean enough only when
every identifiable contaminant that
represents a risk to human health has
been eliminated, to the extent possible by
current technology.
o Demonstrable harm criterion: The
environment is clean enough only when
every identifiable contaminant that is
harmful to human health is eliminated.
Two “modest proposals”
o
In absence of accepted guidance about how
non-health related issues should be
addressed by engineers (when not covered
by law or codes), Harris et al. suggest:
engineers should not be required to inject nonhealth related environmental concerns into their
work, but…
2. in such cases engineers should have the right to
allow their own personal beliefs to guide their
individual interpretations of their professional
obligations.
1.
“modest proposals”, contd…
o An engineer is obligated to take certain
actions when asked to work on a design
which will cause unacceptable risk to
public health, safety or welfare.
o The engineer is not obligated, but should
be free to follow his/her conscience,
when asked to perform work that can
cause non-health related environmental
damage.