The following is a summary of the video “Gilbane Gold,” which is a fictional case study in ethics. The video is presented by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE).
Z-Corp is an electronics manufacturing company in the heart of a farming town known as Gilbane.
Several years previous, Gilbane had attracted Z-Corp to town by offering significant tax breaks, knowing that Z corporation would provide many jobs and boost the local economy. At the time, Z-Corp informed
Gilbane that part of its manufacturing process involved the use of the heavy metals lead and arsenic, and that it would be discharging a certain amount of these into the sewer system. Gilbane was concerned about this discharge, because the town processes sewer sludge into a very profitable fertilizer product known as Gilbane Gold. The town council decided that a small amount of lead and arsenic would be tolerable, but to be safe, they put severe limits on the concentration of metals that Z-Corp would be allowed to discharge. The limits that the town council set were ten times smaller than those allowed by federal law, but Z-Corp agreed to abide by them.
David Jackson is an environmental engineer at Z-Corp. He suspects that for the last few months, the company has been discharging more lead and arsenic than the law allows. The city is testing the waste water, but Jackson knows that their test is not very sensitive, and therefore they are probably not aware of the potential violation. Apparently, the city code is based on a testing method that is not as sensitive as the newer one that Jackson has access to.
Even worse, he knows that the company's production will be increased by about 5 times over the next two years due to a new production contract. When Jackson informs his supervisors of his fears, they deny that there is a problem. He presses the issue, but they tell them that they can simply increase the amount of water that is discharged with the metals, thereby diluting the lead and arsenic concentrations and bringing the levels under city limits (which are apparently based on concentration). However, Jackson thinks that the effects of lead and arsenic are cumulative, and that increasing their amounts will be harmful to
Gilbane Gold even if the concentration in the discharge from the plant is reduced.
A TV reporter gets wind of the report that Z-Corp's production capacity will increase, and she is also suspicious that Z-Corp's lead and arsenic discharge will be too much for the city. She tries to get Jackson to give her the story, pressuring him to tell her what he knows. At first, Jackson does not want to meet with her. But after thinking it over and consulting friends in the environmental business, Jackson meets with the reporter. The story is broadcast on local TV.
As the video ends, David Jackson is listening to a phone message from one of Z-Corp’s lawyers, who is asking him to meet the following morning. (As you can guess, this may not be a pleasant meeting for
David Jackson.)