What a great ethics question for this blog. If you haven't heard, a report came out within the last 48 hours stating that multiple pharmaceuticals have been found in tap water that served over 41 million Americans.
I knew that trace amounts of certain chemicals were placed in tap water for health benefits (ie= fluorine, for teeth) but the pharmaceuticals reportedly found in tap water could have lethal effects if concentrated in higher amounts.
But here lies the real question: the report stated that the names of the present pharmaceuticals would not be released due to security concerns. But shouldn't we know what governmentally-operated facilities are providing to millions of Americans? The report would not even release the names of the 24 metropolitan areas across the nation that were involved in the five-month survey.
So should the investigative body who performed the research release the vital information to the American public? Or should they keep it a secret and insist that we continue "trusting" the facilities to provide us with safe drinking water?
Taken from the story:
"Officials in Arlington, Texas, said pharmaceuticals had been detected in source water but wouldn’t say which ones or in what amounts, citing security concerns. Julie Hunt, director of water utilities, said to provide the public with information regarding 'which, if any, pharmaceuticals or emerging compounds make it through the treatment process can assist someone who wishes to cause harm through the water supply.'”
So, what is the right choice to do?
On a lighter note, I thought this was an interesting story not related to Ethics and Law in PR whatsoever. CLICK HERE.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment