The Aberdeen Three: Improper Storage and Disposal of Hazardous Waste
The Aberdeen Three
Improper Storage and Disposal of Hazardous Waste
Summary of Case Study In 1985 a military base located in Aberdeen, Maryland was found to be storing and disposing hazardous chemicals in a manner unfit to the regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The RCRA was implemented in 1976 for the recovery of energy and safe disposal of hazardous materials. Three engineers known as “The Aberdeen Three”, Carl Gepp, William Dee, and Robert Lentz were responsible for the materials at this Pilot Plant. Issues that were present at this plant through the investigation were known to be hazardous and harmful chemicals left in the open, materials that if mixed became lethal were stored in the same vicinity, and drums of harmful materials were leaking and corroding. Also, at one point the roof of the building storing the harmful materials collapsed, resulting in toxic drums being smashed where no precautions or cleaning took place. The Aberdeen three were indicted on criminal charges on June 28th, 1988. Their criminal charges included “storing, treating, and disposing of hazardous wastes in violation of RCRA at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland” (CE 480, Spring 2014).
Ethical Questions
1. What could the three engineers have done differently?
2. What, if anything, could their subordinates have done differently?
3. How could the superiors have managed the situation better?
4. Do you think the judge 's sentencing of the "Aberdeen Three" was too lenient or too harsh? Why?
Discussion
The actions of these three engineers directly affected the health and safety of the public which directly ignores the fundamental canons in section II.1 of the NSPE code of ethics (NSPE, 2007). There are many safety measures and precautions that could have been taken to result in a much different situation. The case study notes that the cost of cleanup of these materials would not have come out of the engineers’ budget for chemical weapons
Improper Storage and Disposal of Hazardous Waste
Summary of Case Study In 1985 a military base located in Aberdeen, Maryland was found to be storing and disposing hazardous chemicals in a manner unfit to the regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The RCRA was implemented in 1976 for the recovery of energy and safe disposal of hazardous materials. Three engineers known as “The Aberdeen Three”, Carl Gepp, William Dee, and Robert Lentz were responsible for the materials at this Pilot Plant. Issues that were present at this plant through the investigation were known to be hazardous and harmful chemicals left in the open, materials that if mixed became lethal were stored in the same vicinity, and drums of harmful materials were leaking and corroding. Also, at one point the roof of the building storing the harmful materials collapsed, resulting in toxic drums being smashed where no precautions or cleaning took place. The Aberdeen three were indicted on criminal charges on June 28th, 1988. Their criminal charges included “storing, treating, and disposing of hazardous wastes in violation of RCRA at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland” (CE 480, Spring 2014).
Ethical Questions
1. What could the three engineers have done differently?
2. What, if anything, could their subordinates have done differently?
3. How could the superiors have managed the situation better?
4. Do you think the judge 's sentencing of the "Aberdeen Three" was too lenient or too harsh? Why?
Discussion
The actions of these three engineers directly affected the health and safety of the public which directly ignores the fundamental canons in section II.1 of the NSPE code of ethics (NSPE, 2007). There are many safety measures and precautions that could have been taken to result in a much different situation. The case study notes that the cost of cleanup of these materials would not have come out of the engineers’ budget for chemical weapons
References: CE 480, Engineering Ethics, Spring 2014, Case Study # C1. Retrieved from http://www.cesar.wsu.edu/%7Eyonge/ce480/casestudies10.pdf NSPE Code of Ethics, July, 2007. National Society of Professional Engineers. Available from http://www.ce.wsu.edu/facstaff/~yonge/CE480/Code%202007%20July.pdf Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2000, The Aberdeen Three. Available from http://www.bsyse.wsu.edu/pitts/be120/Handouts/cases/case70.htm