PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

MANNUAL

SEMESTER V

EXPERIMENT 1:

What is profession and Professionalism

Profession

Large body of specialized information and discipline

Mastery of this material and associated skills which is obtained through long period of
education and training
Regulation be a professional association or body
Providing service to those who do not have this expertise
Conduct research which continuously improves the service

Professionalism implies to practicing a professional attitude at workplace which includes

following behaviours:-

Appearance

A professional is neat in appearance. Be sure to meet or even exceed the requirements of your
company's dress code, and pay special attention to your appearance when meeting with prospects
or clients.

Demeanor

Your demeanor should exude confidence but not cockiness. Be polite and well-spoken whether
you're interacting with customers, superiors or co-workers. You need to keep your calm, even
during tense situations.

Reliability

As a professional, you will be counted on to find a way to get the job done. Responding to
people promptly and following through on promises in a timely manner is also important, as this
demonstrates reliability.

Competence

Professionals strive to become experts in their field, which sets them apart from the rest of the
pack. This can mean continuing your education by taking courses, attending seminars and
attaining any related professional designations.
 Ethics

Professionals such as doctors, lawyers and public accountants must adhere to a strict code of
ethics. Even if your company or industry doesn't have a written code, you should display ethical
behavior at all times.

Maintaining Your Poise

A professional must maintain his poise even when facing a difficult situation. For example, if a
colleague or client treats you in a belligerent manner, you should not resort to the same type of
behavior.

Phone Etiquette

Your phone etiquette is also an important component of professional behavior. This means
identifying yourself by your full name, company and title when you place a call. Be sure not to
dominate the conversation and listen intently to the other party.

Written Correspondence

During written correspondence, keep your letters brief and to the point. Your tone should be
polite and formal without being "stuffy." This also applies to email correspondence.

Organizational Skills

A professional can quickly and easily find what is needed. Your work area should be neat and
organized, and your briefcase should contain only what is needed for your appointment or
presentation.

Accountability

Professionals are accountable for their actions at all times. If you make a mistake, own up to it
and try to fix it if possible. Don't try to place the blame on a colleague. If your company made
the mistake, take responsibility and work to resolve the issue

VALUES LEAD TO PROFESSIONALISM

Character oriented education that instills basic values and ethnic values in ones psyche is called
Value Based Education. The subject that enables us to understand what is valuable for human
happiness is called value education. Value education is important to help everyone in improving
the value system that he/she holds and puts it to use. Once, one has understood his/ her values in
life he/she can examine and control the various choices he/she makes in his/ her life. Value
education enables us to understand our needs and visualize our goals correctly and also helps to
remove our confusions and contradictions and bring harmony at all levels. It also helps remove
our confusions and contradictions and enables us to rightly utilize the technological innovations.
Values form the basis for all our thoughts, behaviors and actions. Once we know what is
valuable to us, these values becomes the basis, the anchor for our actions. We also need to
understand the universality of various human values, because only then we can have a definite
and common program for value education. Then only we can be assured of a happy and
harmonious human society.

Need for value education is:

a) Correct identification of our aspirations:-

The subject which enables us to understand what is valuable for human happiness is called
value education (VE). Thus, VE enables us to understand our needs and visualize our goals
correctly and also indicate the direction for their fulfillment. It also helps to remove our
confusions and contradictions and bring harmony at all levels.

b) Understanding universal human values to fulfill our aspirations in continuity.

Values form the basis for all our thoughts, behaviors and actions. Once we know what is
valuable to us, these values becomes the basis, the anchor for our actions. We also need to
understand the universality of various human values, because only then we can have a definite
and common program for value education. Then only we can be assured of a happy and
harmonious human society.

c) Matching of values and skills.

To fulfill our aspirations both values and skills are necessary. When we identify and set the right
goals and produced in right direction. This is known as value domain the domain of wisdom, and
when we learn and practices to actualize this goal to develop the techniques to make this happen
in real life, in various dimensions of human endeavor (struggle). This is known as domain of
skills. Hence, there is an essential matching between values and skills for the success of any
human endeavour. For example, I want to lead a healthy life. Only wishing for good health will
not help me keep my body fit and healthy and without having understood the meaning of health,
I will not be able to choose things correctly to keep my body fit and healthy.

d) Evaluation of our beliefs.

Each one of us believes in certain things and we base our values on these beliefs, be they
false or true which may or may not be true in reality. These believes come to us from what
we read, see, hear, what our parents tells us,our friends talk about, what the magazines talk
of, what we see from TV etc. Value Education helps us to evaluate our beliefs and assumed
values.
e) Technology and human values.

The present education system has become largely skill-based. The prime emphasis is on science
and technology. However, science and technology can only help to provide the means to achieve
what is considered valuable. It is not within the scope of science and technology to provide the
competence of deciding what really is valuable. Value Education is a crucial missing link in the
present education system. Because of this deficiency, most of our efforts may prove to be
counterproductive and serious crises at the individual, societal and environmental level are
manifesting

POs: (f)
EXPERIMENT 2

Explain the professional role of engineer for the society?

Ethics is a vital part of the engineering profession, and engineering students must learn to act
professionally and do the right thing. Students and professionals are guided by the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Code of Ethics and the National Society of Professional
Engineers (NSPE) Code of Ethics. These codes promote good behavior that fosters fairness,
trust, and integrity. As per the NSPE Code of Ethics, engineers shall avoid deceptive acts and
shall conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the
honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.

Oath for an engineer:

As an Engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect, and to
uphold devotion to the standards and the dignity of my profession, conscious always that my
skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of Earths precious
wealth.

As an Engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and
knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty and
in fidelity to my profession, I shall give the utmost.

POs: (i)
EXPERIMENT 3

What are the various ethical obligations for an engineer student?

Student Code of Ethics:

Student Code of Ethics promotes professional behavior and academic integrity so as to provide
an effective learning environment and to prepare graduates for careers as professionals.. Students
enrolled in courses in the Faculty or in a degree program in the Faculty are obligated to adhere to
this Code of Ethics.

a) Personal honor and professional integrity

Maintain high ideals of personal honor and professional integrity and not engage in activities that
bring into disrepute the reputation of oneself, colleagues, the Faculty, the University and the
engineering profession. This includes adhering to regulations of the University, organizations
with which one is involved, and society.

b) Respect for others

Be courteous and respectful of others, respect confidentiality and privacy rights, avoid disrupting
the earning and work environment, and not maliciously injure the reputation of another student
or faculty or staff member. This includes completing evaluations of courses and instructors in a
professional and constructive fashion, without offensive comments not bearing on instructor
performance.

c) Equity, non-discrimination and non-harassment

Promote an equitable working and learning environment free from harassment and
discrimination.

d) Appropriate academic conduct

Not commit academic misconduct, including cheating, plagiarism, falsifying or fabricating data,
impersonating others, falsifying medical or other certificates, circumventing the learning process,
copying, falsifying the evaluation of work, submitting the same work for multiple credits without
approval, offering bribes, and aiding others in committing academic misconduct.

e) Commitment to quality

Strive for the highest possible standard of performance and endeavour to produce work of which
one can be proud.
f) Responsibility and fairness

Act with responsibility and fairness towards others in all activities, including being prepared for
classes and other activities, contributing equitably to and working cooperatively on team
activities, giving proper credit for work, and accepting responsibility for one's actions. This
includes not allowing conflict of interest or bias to affect ones conduct.

g) Appropriate use of university facilities

Use laboratory, shop, computing, network, communications and other facilities in the Faculty
and University only when properly authorized, in a correct and safe manner and in accordance
with any relevant procedures or policies. This includes use of computing accounts, electronic
mail and web access.

h) Uphold principles of this Code of Ethics

Uphold and promote the principles of this Code of Ethics, and report to the proper authorities
those who violate this Code of Ethics or other University regulations or policies.

i) Awareness and application of professional codes of ethics

Become fully aware of relevant professional codes of ethics relevant to ones discipline and
apply their principles where applicable in academic activities and while involved in co-op and
internship work placements and other UOIT-related extra-curricular activities. For engineering
students, the Code of Ethics of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) is relevant

POs: (f)
EXPERIMENT 4

What do you mean by professional responsibilities and explain the mechanism of Whistle
lowing.

Professional responsibility is the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of
attorneys to act in a professional manner, obey the law, avoid conflicts of interest, and
put the interests of clients ahead of their own interests.
Professional responsibility is the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of
attorneys to act in a professional manner, obey the law, avoid conflicts of interest, and
put the interests of clients ahead of their own interests.

Whistle Blower:

A whistleblower (also whistle-blower or whistle blower)[1] is a person who exposes any kind of
information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that
is either private or public.

Persons who act as whistleblowers are often the subject of retaliation by their employers.
Typically the employer will discharge the whistleblower, who is often an at-will employee. An
at-will employee is a person without a specific term of employment. The employee may quit at
any time and the employer has the right to fire the employee without having to cite a reason.

A whistleblower is a person working within an organization who reports that organization's

misconduct. The person can be a current or past employee. Also, note that the misconduct can be
a past act, can be ongoing, or can be in the planning stages.

Types of Whistle Blowers:

There are two types of whistleblowing. The first is internal whistleblowing. This means that the
whistleblower reports misconduct to another person within the organization. The second type is
external whistleblowing. This means that the whistleblower reports misconduct to a person
outside the organization, such as law enforcement or the media.
Whistleblowers can also be designated by the type of whistleblowing. Let's first take a look at
federal whistleblowers. These are government employees who reveal misconduct committed by
their employers. corporate whistleblower. These whistleblowers are employees of corporations
or other private businesses that disclose statutory or regulatory violations by the employer

POs: (j)
EXPERIMENT 5
What is a disaster? Explain the major types of Natural Disaster

Disaster is a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of
life.

Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary defines disaster as : something (such as a flood,

tornado, fire, plane crash, etc.) that happens suddenly and causes much suffering or loss
to many people

something that has a very bad effect or result

a complete or terrible failure

Natural Disaster
These are primarily natural events. It is possible that certain human activities could maybe aid in
some of these events, but, by and large, these are mostly natural events.
Earthquakes
Volcano Eruptions
Floods
Tornadoes, Typhoons, Cyclones
Drought
Wildfire
Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
Natural hazards are naturally occurring physical phenomena caused either by rapid or slow
onset events which can be geophysical (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic activity),
hydrological (avalanches and floods), climatological (extreme temperatures, drought and
wildfires), meteorological (cyclones and storms/wave surges) or biological (disease epidemics
and insect/animal plagues
What Is An Earthquake
Earthquakes refer to shaking of earth. There is continuous activity going on below the surface of
the earth. There are several large plates (size of continents) below the surface of the earth, which
move (at a very slow speed). As a part of this movement, sometimes, they collide against each
other. And, after the collision, they might still continue to push each other. As they continually
keep pushing each other, there is a pressure building up across these plates below the surface.
And, then, at a certain time, one of the plates might slide over another. This causes an
earthquake.
Some earthquakes might be caused by activity above the surface. For example in a mountainous
region, there might be a heavy landslide. Due to a huge mass of land falling, at the point of the
fall, there could be a minor shaking of earth, due the impact of fall. However, usually, such
earthquakes are not very major.
Classifying An Earthquake
The impact of an earthquake (at any location) is characterized by two primary characteristics:
Intensity
This measures the magnitude of the event. Higher is the value, the bigger is the magnitude. The
most common scale used for measuring an earthquake is Richter Scale. It should be understood
that Richter scale is a logarithmic scale. What this means is an earthquake measuring 6.0 is 10
times more powerful than an earthquake measuring 5.0
Epicenter
This denotes the exact location, where the earthquake originated. The deeper it is inside the
earth, the lower will be the impact on the surface where human beings reside.
There are 100s of earthquakes taking place on a daily basis all around the world. However, most
of these earthquakes are really low-intensity, too-low to be noticed. However, sometimes there
are some earthquakes which are significantly intensity

Some major earthquakes

Feb 27, 2015 : magnitude 5.4, northwest Pakistan, 5 injured

March 30, 2015 : magnitude 7.7, Papua New Guinea coast, no casualties
April 24, 2015 : magnitude 5.9, New Zealand, no major damage
Aug 4, 2014: 6.1 magnitude, southwest China's mountainous Yunnan province, 367 people
killed and 1,881 people injured.
Aug 21, 2014 : 5.0 magnitude, Himachal Pradesh, India, no casualties
Nov 15, 2014 : 7.1 magnitude, eastern Indonesia, no casualties
Nov 23, 2014 : 6.7-magnitude, Nagano City and Hakuba village in Japan, 39 injured, 10 homes
damaged
Nov 23, 2014 : 6.3-magnitude, Sichuan Province, China, 80,000 affected.
Recognizing an Earthquake
The most common ways to identify the onset of an earthquake would be:
A feeling of shaking of the ground below you, if you are sitting/standing. The most
common feeling is as if the person is feeling giddy.
Swinging of overhead hanging stuff, e.g. fans, chandeliers etc. However, in this situation,
you should distinguish between swaying of overhead hanging stuff due to wind
A feeling as if both the rear tires of your car are flat (if you are driving)

Immediate Safety :
Hence, in case of an earthquake, the safest place to be would be in an open ground
away from all kinds of buildings and tall structures.
If you can not rush out of your building, you can duck under some sturdy desk etc. which
might provide protection against heavy objects falling on your body.
Volcanos:
Volcanoes refer to eruption of hot molten lava from below the surface of the earth. As plates
move away from each other, at certain places, the surface might get stretched and thinner. In
such a situation, the hot molten lava and gaseous substances below this thinned surface could
open up a fissure and come out.
Some of the most damaging volcanic activities of the past have been:
1. Mount Pinatubo in Phillipines (1991-96)
2. Rabaul in Papua NewGuinea (1994)
3. Lake Nyos in Cameroon (1986)
4. Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia (1985)
5. El Chichon in Mexico (1982)
Floods

Floods refer to huge amount of water reaching land in a short span of time, causing land surface
to be submerged under water at places, where, land surface is usually not covered with water.
Floods could be caused due to natural causes, or, human activities, or, a combination of both.
Floods are caused by discharge of huge volume of water in a short span of time, at a rate, such
that the water cannot be carried away from the scene of discharge.
Some of the possible reasons for such huge discharge of water could be:
A. Very heavy rainfall (say: due to cyclones, typhoons etc.) in a short span of time. It should
be noted that the amount of rainfall itself is not a sufficient cause, the duration within
which the rainfall is receive is equally important contributor
B. breach in levy, dams etc
C. very high tidal waves (sometimes in the aftermath of a seismic activity, e.g. earthquakes)
etc. also called tsunamis

Tornadoes, Typhoons, Cyclones

These are winds of high-speed, many times accompanied by heavy rainfall. These cause
structural damage, snapped overhead wires, and, possibility of floods.

POs: (g)
EXPERIMENT 6

What are the different ways to control manmade disaster?

These are mostly caused due to certain human activities. The disasters themselves could be
unintentional, but, are caused due to some intentional activity. Most of these (barring coordinated
terrorist activities) are due to certain accidents which could have been prevented if sufficient
precautionary measures were put in place.
Nuclear Leaks
Chemical Leaks/Spill over
Terrorist Activities
Structural Collapse

Nuclear Leaks

Some of the worst known nuclear accidents have been at:

A. Three Mile Island, near H Harrisburg Pennsylvania, USA in 1979
B. Chernobyl (in current Ukraine), in (then) USSR, in 1986
Preventive Meassures
The problem with accidents/leaks with nuclear installation is that radioactive material might get
discharged into the environment. This radioactive material could then enter human bodies. The
primary ways for these radioactive materials to enter human-bodies is:
a. through breathing of contaminated air
b. through eating of contaminated food (including livestock animals which might have
inhaled/eaten contaminated air/food) including milk from a cow which has grazed on
contaminated grass!!
c. through drinking of contaminated water
d. through pores of skin etc which might be in contact with contaminated air or water.
This is very small small enough to be considered as negligible.

The first thing in the step for preparedness is to understand the authority structure under the rule
of the land, i.e. to understand, who will issue notification in the case of a failure, or, a chance of
failure. This is to ensure that all the information received is only from authorized and reliable
sources. The worst thing that you might want is to deal with multiple sources of information,
your inability to sort out rumour from the real situation. In the same context, it should be
worthwhile to also understand the means and mechanism that this competent authority will use to
provide reliable information. There was a time, when, news agencies used to be a good, authentic
source of information; however, today with so many agencies, and, a lot of them being
involved in a race to be the first ones, sometimes, it might not be possible for each of them to
provide authentic and reliable information.
Usually, each nuclear installation would have a person/team authorized to communicate on
matters related to disasters at their locations and sites. For some nuclear sites, they might want
to make use of sirens and/or Public Address System etc.
Next thing would be to understand the risk perception of your home/office, based on its distance
from the nuclear installation. Typically, areas around a nuclear installation are divided into
zones. A common classification is 3 zones: Central, Intermediate and Outer. Some of these zones
could be further sub-divided into sub-zones. Depending on the nature of the incident, different
zones might be at different risk levels, and, they might need different kind of mitigation efforts
hence, you should know the zone in which you fall.
Now, you should understand the terminology used for communication of risks at the nuclear
facility. E.g. one of the common terminology might include:
Early Warning: to mean no or very little impact so far, but, the nuclear facility is in a
situation, that the problem could soon increase
Disaster Alert: to mean a hazardous release of radioactive material has already
happened, or, is very likely to happen
The above are just example usage of terminology. The actual terminology that has to be used is
governed by the law of the country, and hence, you should understand the terminology for your
nuclear location.
In case of an actual event, or, likelihood of a radiation leak, the competent disaster management
authority will come into place, and, will issue guidelines etc. As a general population, it might be
most prudent to comply with the guidelines issues by such disaster management authority in such
situations. The disaster management authority is expected to issue specific guidelines, based on
nature of events, weather patterns etc. So, stay-tuned to this kind of information to understand
the risk-levels of your zone of residence/work.
First of all, stay indoors (unless, specifically asked to evacuate). By staying indoors, you
are trying to reduce the level of your exposure to radio-active material. Similarly, bring
your pets and livestock indoors/their stalls.
Prepare for possible evacuation
Arrange for iodine tablets
Do Not consume freshly harvested food products because, it might have been
contaminated
Do not use water which was outside, as it might have been contaminated.

Chemical Leaks/Spill over

The preparedness for people around large chemical plants and storage facilities should include:
1. Be aware as to what are the kind of chemicals being used/produced/stored/handled at the
facility
2. Besides knowing the names of these various chemicals, the people should also learn, the
toxicity level of these chemicals, their important properties, including reactivity with
other chemicals found/used/stored in the nearby areas
3. Be aware of the various processes/machines etc. involved which could create a
blast/explosion etc.
4. Installing a mechanism for alerting, when something goes wrong. This is for the factory
to alert the local community that something has gone wrong. This could be as simple as
siren based system
5. Installing a mechanism for the community to be able to alert the factory staff, in case they
notice something going wrong (e.g. unusual discharge from chimney and/or any other
kind of liquid/gaseous vent/outlet etc.). This could be as simple as the phone nos. for the
important factory department being available easily with many people in the community.
Terrorist activities

Terrorist activities were traditionally not considered as disasters. However, during the last few
years, terrorist activities have become more sophisticated in terms of the amount of detonating
power on one side, and, the degree of coordination through which these are done, e.g. Several
explosions are done almost simultaneously thereby leaving the law-enforcement agencies and
rescue operations in total confusion and disarray. Further, terrorist activities are now using
explosive powers of their victims themselves to create more powerful blasts. e.g. Detonation of
bombs kept in vehicles

POs: (g)
BEYOND SYLLABUS

CASE STUDY I

Bhopal Plant Disaster Situation Summary

During the night of 2-3 December 1984, a leak of some 40 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas
mixed with unknown other gasses from a chemical plant owned and operated by Union Carbide
(India) Limited, a partly-owned subsidiary of the US-based Union Carbide Corporation, caused
one of the highest-casualty industrial accidents of the 20th century. At least 2000 people died
immediately and another 200,000 to 300,000 suffered respiratory and other injuries of varying
severity. Property damage consisted mainly of contamination to nearby areas by various
chemical residues. The defoliation of trees immediately afterward is clearly attributable to the
gas leak; contamination in the nearby settlements may have multiple sources, the contamination
of the plant site resulted from many years of general production activity.

.
The Company and the City
Union Carbide (India) Limited (UCIL) operated in India even before independence, primarily as
a maker and seller of dry cell batteries under the Eveready trademark also used in the USA by
Union Carbide.UCIL expanded into making fertilizers and pesticides in the 1960s as the
government encouraged local production to supply farmers with the chemicals needed to raise
the new hybrid types of rice, wheat, and cotton. India had suffered serious food shortages in the
early-mid 1960s because of drought, and the greater drought-resistance of the new hybrids made
them very attractive to a government concerned with feeding a growing population and
increasing the supply of locally grown cotton for the growing textile industry.

When UCIL established its Agricultural Products Division in the mid-1960s, the largest
concentration of Indian chemical plants was located in Chembur near Bombay [Mumbai], an
area called gas chamber by residents because of the extensive air pollution. There was
relatively little industry in Bhopal, but both the central government and the state government of
Madhya Pradesh, of which Bhopal is the capital, were anxious to bring industry to the area.
Thus, UCILs plans for a chemical plant and an agricultural products R&D center met with a
favorable reception, and the state government even supplied the land for the proposed chemical
plant on a favorable 99-year lease. The UCIL plant brought with it good paying jobs,not only for
members of the growing technical stratum but for lower-level workers as well. UCIL executives
maintained good relations with local political leaders as well.In the 1960s and 70s, the rural
population of Madhya Pradesh was increasing at a rate of 2% a year.Bhopal was one of the
fastest-growing cities in India during the 1960s and 1970s as unemployed people from the
surrounding countryside came looking for better opportunities, and the state government was
anxious to have an industrial base. As in other Indian cities, growth was haphazard, and planning
frequently followed after people had settled on an unoccupied area of land and built themselves
improvised shelters. The resulting hutments, as they are called in India, were usually narrow
strips of ramshackle shelters with mud walls and wood or sheet metal roofs separated by narrow
alleys located along already constructed roads. They typically lacked basic infrastructure such as
piped water, sewage, electricity (except where inhabitants could tap illegally into existing power
lines), and access to public transportation.
Even in the more established areas of town, infrastructure was weak. There were approximately
10,000 phones in the city, most in government offices, and they often failed to work. Electricity
was unreliable and usually not supplied all day. In 1984 there were 1800 hospital beds and 300
doctors in the whole city. When UCIL constructed the first elements of its plant in 1968-69, the
population of Bhopal was approximately 300,000 and large portions of the area next to the plant
were still uninhabited though it was about 2 miles from the center of the Old City and nearer to
some established neighborhoods with hospitals and a railway station. As other industrial
concerns located nearby, electricity was brought in to the plants, and supplied more reliably than
in many parts of the city. These developments made the area more attractive to newcomers
seeking employment, and the fact the state government owned much of the vacant land made the
area particularly attractive to squatters and to people posing as landowners and renting
huts to others because it was less likely than private owners to try displacing them.
City plans were developed in 1958-59 and 1962-63, but never implemented. In 1975, the
Madhya Pradesh government adopted a new Master Plan for Bhopal designating areas for
residential and other developments and establishing a hazardous industry district in an area
about 15 miles from the center of town. UCIL had been formulating pesticides (taking
concentrates and diluting them to the strength needed for use on farms) at its plant since 1969
and in October 1975 secured a license from the central government to produce up to 5,000 tons
of SEVIN, a carbaryl pesticide, using a methyl isocyanate-based process. This would require
adding new facilities in the existing compound and undertaking more complicated production
processes. Even so, the state planning board classified the plant as general industry rather than
hazardous industry in a 1976 review. This decision allowed both current activity and the new
construction to go ahead at the existing location. Population growth continued, and the 1981
Indian census put the population of Bhopal at about 896,000. In April 1984, with the city
population estimated at 900,000, the state government gave in to the accomplished fact of
settlements near the UCIL plant by distributing certificates confirming squattersownership of
approximately 50 square meters (500 square feet) of land where their hut stood. This decision
had several motives: the party in powers desire to secure electoral support in future elections, a
realization that the settlers could not be moved, and a desire to reduce the amount of extortion
they suffered from persons posing as landowners. Though many in the area had already tapped
into the electric grid illegally, neither the state nor the city government made any plans to extend
piped water or sewers into the area, or to address the significant industrial and residential
pollution of the nearby lakes.
The Economic Situation of the Chemical Plant
The UCIL plant succeeded as a chemical formulary, a simple operation in which high-
concentrate versions of fertilizers and pesticides are diluted and packaged for customer use.
Company efforts to realize its, and the Indian governments, ambitions to have the plant move on
to full production of chemicals were dogged by problems. UCILs initial plans called for making
local versions of Union Carbides carbaryl pesticides using an alpha-napthol process its own
chemists had worked out in 1969. However, it proved much harder than UCIL expected to scale
up to the volumes that would be needed to produce a pesticide on-site. The first version of the
alpha-napthol unit failed soon after construction was completed in 1978, and an additional US$2
million was spent on rebuilding it. The reconstructed unit also failed soon after its completion in
1981. The plant had to import alpha-napthol from Union Carbide. After reviewing production
costs in 1981, Union Carbide suggested that UCIL should import the methyl isocyanate as well,
but the Indian government, which had approved the project in the expectation of getting
local production, rejected the application to import MIC and established a January 1985 cutoff
date for alpha-napthol imports as well. This effectively established a tight deadline for getting
the process to work. By 1982 as construction of the methyl isocyanate unit was moving to
completion, UCIL and Union Carbide both realized that the plant was not economically viable
because of changes in the market. Local demand for UCILs pesticides had dropped significantly
after 1977 as Indian farmers shifted to cheaper local products. New generation carbofuran
pesticides under development in the USA and Western Europe appeared likely to render
SEVIN obsolete at the upper end of the market. Though the Bhopal plant returned a modest
profit in 1981, it operated below capacity and at a loss afterward. Discussion of various
alternatives between UCIL and Union Carbide in 1982-84 led UCIL to accept Union Carbide
suggestions for selling all or most of the plant. By fall 1984 it was operating at about 1/5 of
capacity.
The Gas Leak
As UCIL and Union Carbide considered the fate of the Bhopal plant and losses continued, the
quality of its operation deteriorated. The initial Indian managing and supervisory staff for the
Bhopal methyl isocyanate production unit were trained in Union Carbides West Virginia plant
in 1981-82. As the Bhopal plants prospects declined, they began leaving for more attractive jobs
and were replaced by less-skilled employees. Low production volumes seemed to justify
reductions in the workforce though the local labor unions insisted that they were going too far. In
the methyl isocyanate unit, the workforce was reduced from the Union Carbide-recommended 3
supervisors and 12 workers on each shift to 1 supervisor and 6workers. Other areas of the plant
were also affected by reductions. Labor-management relations had been rocky since a fatal gas
leak in December 1981, and the workforce reductions did not improve matters.
In the late fall of 1984, plant operations were focused on using up existing stocks of chemicals to
prepare for sale of the plant. In October, the remaining stocks of phosgene and methylamine
were combined to make about 62 tons of methyl isocyanate, which was then stored. About 22
tons were put into Tank 611 and the rest in tank 610. Plans to draw off the MIC one ton at a time
and make the last batches of SEVIN were soon disrupted. On October 31st rioting broke out in
several parts of Bhopal after news that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had been assassinated by
some of her Sikh bodyguards reached the city. City authorities imposed a curfew for several
weeks. The resulting difficulties in getting the second and third shift of workers into and out of
the plant limited activity for much of November. Production was also hampered briefly by
inability to pressurize Tank 610, but resumed when operations shifted to drawing from
Tank 611. In the evening of 2 December, the second shift supervisor ordered workers to perform
a periodic washing of pipes in the MIC storage area to control corrosion. As this operation began
about 9:30 pm, most of the safety systems in the plant were not in good operating order. The vent
scrubber, designed to neutralize any gas leak through the vent with caustic soda, was on standby
and appeared ready for operation. The flare, which would handle larger leaks via flame
neutralization, lacked sufficient capacity to deal with a major leak. It had been shut down a few
weeks earlier for replacement of a corroded pipe, and all relief pipes in the plant were directly
connected to the gas vent scrubber. The refrigeration system designed to keep MIC storage tanks
cool, had been turned off several months before and the freon drawn off for use elsewhere in the
plant. The firewater spraying systems designed to deal with fires, cool down overheated
equipment, or provide supplementary water neutralization of gasses was operational but the
spray could
not reach the top of the flare stack. The high-pressure escape valve, which would release if
pressure in the tank exceeded 40 psi and shunt gas to the vent or the flare was operational.
In the generally accepted account of events, the washing operations proceeded despite a.) failure
to insert a slip blind into the pipes to make sure that water did not back up into storage tanks and
b.) the fact one or two of bleeder valves at the bottom of the pipes where wash water should have
come out were blocked. The worker doing the washing noticed this, and suspended washing to
report the problem. His immediate superior, an operations supervisor rather than a maintenance
supervisor, told him to continue. The blockage caused water to back up. This was not detected,
and washing continued after the third shift comes on at 10:30-10:45 pm. Water than began
entering Tank 610 by passing through a normally-open pressurization valve and then through a
partly-open isolation valve that should have been closed after the
last draw of MIC but was not because of either human error or mechanical failure. By 11 pm, the
control room pressure indicator for Tank 610 read 25 psi, up from 2 psi earlier in the evening.
However, this was within normal fluctuations so did not cause alarm. Worker concern was first
inspired by the smell of gas about 11:30. A small leak was found and a water spray set up to
neutralize it. Workers discussed the situation and what to do during their regular 11:30 pm tea
break. Pressure continued to build relatively slowly, with the control room indicator reading
somewhere between 25 and 30 psi at 12:15 am. By 12:30 am, however, it read 55 psi well
above operational limits and gauge error.

At this point the control room operator went out to the tanks to double-check the gauges there.
He heard a relief valve pop, heard rumblings from the underground tanks, and felt heat through
the concrete covering the tanks. He returned to the control room to engage the stack scrubber, but
the caustic soda failed to flow. A large cloud of gas escaped from the vent stack. At about 12:40
am the plant supervisor was informed of the problem and the alarm sirens sounded. However, the
sirens audible outside the plant were shut off after a few minutes. Efforts to reduce the danger by
transferring liquid MIC to another tank failed because the alternate tank was not empty as
supervisors initially believed. Efforts to neutralize the escaping gas with water also failed
because the spray could not reach the top of the vent stack. Thus, gas leaked out for
about 2 hours. The amount of gas escaping is usually put at 40 tons. Residents of nearby areas
begin smelling the gas about 1 am. Lack of information about what to do induced panic and
people began to flee. The Bhopal police were poorly organized and did little to help
immediately after the leak. An army engineer unit mobilized after a personal request to its
commander by a retired officer now running an industrial plant near the UCIL plant, evacuated
that plants workers at about 3 am and then began transporting local residents to hospitals and
clinics. Medical staff converged on their hospitals and clinics as they heard about the situation,
but their initial efforts to treat patients were hampered by lack of information about the gas or
antidotes. Inquiries to UCIL medical officers yielded little specific information and downplayed
MIC hazards.

Impacts
Though there was defoliation of trees and some additional contamination of soil and lakes, the
main impact of the accident was death and injury to humans and animals. Estimates of the
number of immediate human deaths caused by the Bhopal gas cloud wary from the official
Indian government figure of approximately 2000 to the 10,000 favored by local activists. The
number treated for gas exposure and continuing to suffer ill-health over the next several years
has been estimated at 200,000 to 300,000, and by 1990 when the government of Madhya Pradesh
provided the Supreme Court of India with a list of victims eligible for compensation, 3,818
persons were listed as dead from the effects of gas exposure. Additional thousands were made
sufficiently ill to be unable to work. Medical treatment of survivors was complicated
by lack of knowledge about what gasses escaped the plant, the paucity of information provided
by Union Carbide and UCIL, the general lack of information about the long term (as distinct
from immediate) effects of high exposure to MIC or related gasses, and uncertainty about what
toxic chemicals other than MIC had poisoned the victims. The deaths also led to considerable
disruption of family lives as widows and orphans joined households of relatives. Since most of
these households were very poor, the strain of extra mouths to feed was considerable,
particularly for families taking in survivors who needed continuing medical care. Locally and
globally, blame for the accident was quickly assigned to Union Carbide. Consistent with
widespread beliefs that multinationals control their subsidiaries operations very closely, it rather
than UCIL was deemed ultimately responsible for the condition of that plant and the level and
training of staff. In Bhopal itself this sentiment was assisted by an influx of US lawyers seeking
to sign up clients for lawsuits against Union Carbide in the USA; in other parts of the world
Union Carbides weak safety record made it a target for general frustration about the lack of
transparency about chemical company operations and a focal point for environmentalist
mobilization. This was intensified in 1985 as a string of smaller gas leaks at the West Virginia
plant made the news and the US government investigated conditions at the plant. Though it was
clear immediately that Union Carbide and/or its executives would face criminal and tort
charges in India, investors imposed penalties far more quickly. Standard and Poors dropped the
companys credit rating to the lowest investment grade while institutional investors (universities,
pension funds, mutual funds) dumped enough shares for their stake in the firm to decline from 65
to 35%. By December 1985, some 30% of Union Carbide stock was owned by rival companies
or speculators poised for a hostile takeover. The company spent the next several years fending
off takeover bids, most often by selling its more profitable divisions to raise the money needed,
while also required to set aside funds for payment of legal settlements. It sold its 50.1% stake in
UCIL to an Indian firm in 1994, with the proceeds going to build and endow a hospital for gas
victims in Bhopal. The last remnants of Union Carbide were absorbed by Dow Chemical
Company in 2001. Victims filed lawsuits against both the company and the Indian government
(citing its failure to regulate effectively) in India and the USA during early 1985. To deal with
the proliferation of claims the Indian Parliament adopted special legislation in March giving the
government sole authority to sue on behalf of victims, and the government filed its own lawsuit
in US courts. The US courts consolidated the several thousand private claims and the Indian
government suit into a single case, which was heard in the Federal District Court for the
Southern District of New York. Efforts to negotiate a settlement floundered on Indian
government objections to the amounts offered by Union Carbide, and the suit went to trial. The
initial US hearing focused on admissibility of the lawsuit since the events had occurred in India
and international legal norms usually favor trial in the place where events occurred. The Indian
government and the lawyers for individual claimants argued strenuously for a US hearing while
Union Carbide argued equally strenuously for dismissing the case in favor of hearings in Indian
courts for the same reason: US courts allowed greater opportunities for class action suits and
were likely to award higher compensation to the victims. Yet, in a decision interpretable either as
deference to the Indian legal system or a victory for Union Carbide, the US District court ruled
that the lawsuits should be heard in India.
Efforts to negotiate a settlement continued, with the Indian Supreme Court pressing the sides to
come to a global settlement of all cases. They agreed on compensation of $470 million, a
settlement panel of the Indian Supreme Court approved and ordered the parties to carry out. The
settlement aroused considerable opposition as it fell far short of the $3 billion that victims
advocates were seeking, and appeal was made to the full Supreme Court. It affirmed the decision
in 1991, adding a provision requiring Union Carbide to fund building of a hospital in Bhopal to
treat surviving victims. Only in 2003 did the Government of India complete paying
compensation to victims, at which time a new dispute arose over what to do with the
approximately $390 million remaining after compensation was paid (the money having earned
interest between 1989 and the payout). The Indian Supreme Court ordered the government to
release this to programs for victims. This settlement did not cover the related question of liability
to clean up or pay for cleaning up the plant site. Union Carbide and UCIL performed some
cleanup work under Madhya Pradesh supervision in 1986-98.
UCILs successor turned the land back to Madhya Pradesh in 1998, and all work put under state
authority. Efforts to file class action suits in the USA to compensate victims of later exposure to
contamination and to secure money for cleanup of the plant site were initiated in 1999 and 2007.
The 1999 suit was rejected in 2004 and 2005, and the 2007 suit suspended pending the outcome
of appeals against those rulings. UCCs and UCILs successor companies, Dow Chemical in the
USA and Eveready Industries in India (mainly the former), are now the targets of transnational
campaigns on behalf of the victims. For anti-corporate and anti-capitalism activists, Bhopal
has become shorthand for corporate greed and callousness. For the victims and their supporters,
the word conjures up continuing inaction by their own government as well. The accident also
inspired considerable discussion of need for better regulations addressing chemical plant safety,
information about toxic chemicals, and contingency planning for mitigating the impact of gas
leaks inside and outside plants. In Western Europe, this process was well advanced in reaction to
the 1976 Seveso gas leak in Italy. Policy initiatives were more numerous in the USA, particularly
after a significant leak from Union Carbides MIC plant in West Virginia in early 1985 sent
local residents to the hospital. Reaction was less strong in India, where environmental law was
less developed and citizen environmental movements weaker.
Case II

Whistle Blowing:

Engineer A is employed by Industrial Company X which engages in substantial work on defense

projects. Engineer A's assigned duties relate to the work of subcontractors, including review of
the adequacy and acceptability of the plans for material provided by subcontractors. In the course
of this work Engineer A advises his boss, Engineer B, by memoranda of problems he found with
certain submissions of Subcontractor Y, and urged management to reject such work and require
Subcontractor Y to correct the deficiencies he outlined. Engineer B and Management reject the
comments of Engineer A, particularly his proposal that the work of a particular subcontractor be
redesigned because of Engineer A's claim that the subcontractor's submission represented
excessive cost and time delays.

After the exchange of further memoranda between Engineer A and Engineer B, and continued
disagreement between Engineer A and management on the issues he raised, management places
a critical memorandum in his personnel file, and subsequently places him on three months'
probation, with the further notation that if his job performance did not improve, he would be
terminated.

Engineer A continues to insist that his employer had an obligation to insure that Subcontractor Y
deliver equipment according to the specifications, as he interprets same, and thereby save
substantial defense expenditures. He requests an ethical review and determination of the
propriety of his course of action and the degree of ethical responsibility of engineers in such
circumstances.

Question:
Was it ethical for Engineer A to continue his efforts to secure change in the policy of his
employer and to request an ethical review?