Toxic Dumping

Toxic Dumping

Ethics, by definition are systematic statements of right and wrong together with a philosophical system that both justifies and necessitates rules of conduct. Strong ethical values are a must for any corporation to succeed in any of its endeavors. The sharing of values in business life is as important as it is in other aspects of life. Businesses should try to foster shared moral and ethical values in its employees (Corley, et al., 2001).

There are major ethical rules that must be followed on a daily basis by business owners and operators. Dumping toxic waste into the holding pond located on the company’s property, the company would show blatant disregard for the liberty and rights of others, maliciously acting in bad faith, not exercising due care, creating conflicts of interests, not displaying fundamental honesty and adherence to the law, and failing to protect the environment (Corley, et al., 2001).

From a legal prospective, dumping various toxic production wastes into a holding pond on the company’s property puts the company in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under RCRA, the generator of wastes has two primary obligations. First, determine whether the waste qualifies as hazardous material under the RCRA guidelines and second, to see that such wastes are properly transported to a disposal facility that is licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Criminal fines and imprisonment can be brought up against offenders that fail to comply with the regulations of RCRA. Another regulation imposed by the Superfund Act requires anyone that releases unauthorized amounts of hazardous substances into the environment to notify the government. Refusal to obey with this act can lead to a lawsuit for reimbursement of clean up moneys spent from the Superfund, plus punitive damages up to triple the amount of the clean up costs. The government can also recover damages for injury done to any natural resources.

The above matter is of great consequence. I have both ethical and moral responsibility to stop the vice-president of the company from dumping various toxic production wastes into a holding pond on the company’s property. Due to the seriousness of this matter, it will be of great importance to handle this situation in both a sensitive and strategic manner. Initially, I will set up a private meeting with the vice-president to express my concerns surrounding this matter upon him. I will remind him of the legal ramifications surrounding illegal toxic dumping, which will be of tremendous consequence to the company, its’ employees, as well as to himself. I will forewarn him that my ethical beliefs will not allow me to look the other way and pretend that I have no knowledge of this, and will therefore be forced to notify proper authorities if he chooses to proceed with his actions. Lastly, I will explore various alternatives of proper toxic waste disposal, explaining the monetary hardship that the company will incur when they are fined by the EPA, as well as running the risk of being shut down entirely. I realize that I may face sever consequences as a result of my intervention in this matter. The outcome of this meeting can go several ways. The scenarios are as follows.

1. The vice-president realizes that his intentions are wrong and quickly comes to his senses. He decides to take my advice and follow proper procedures in disposing the toxic waste without violating regulations.

2. He thinks I am out of line by telling him how to do his job and teaching him about the regulations. He tells me to keep my mouth shut and not to mention a word of this to anyone. At this point, I tell him that I will report him to the authorities if he goes ahead with his plans. He threatens to fire me but I retaliate to his threat by telling him that I would