Ethics Dilemma - The Industrial Hygiene Report
The ethics dilemma published by the Joint Industrial Hygiene Ethics Education Committee (JIHEEC) in the June-July Synergist places an industrial hygienist by the name of Javier on the horns of a dilemma. Javier is a consultant for a non-union machine shop and has been contracted to perform a limited industrial hygiene survey to insure compliance with OSHA standards in a machine shop using water based metal working fluids – specifically sample for oil mist. During his survey Javier observes that the shop has not implemented many of the “best practices” for machining with metalworking fluids and has identified at least one worker concerned that his recently acquired asthma may be related to his metal working fluid exposure. Not surprisingly, the air sampling results Javier gets back are well below the OSHA PEL. When Javier starts to write his industrial hygiene report he is confronted with an ethical dilemma about the type of report to submit.
Read the Full Description of the Dilemma
If you would like to learn more about this dilemma you can read the full description on the Joint Industrial Hygiene Ethics Education Committee web pages (look under committees) Please read the entire dilemma if you would like to participate in this blog
When Javier starts to write his industrial hygiene report he is confronted with an ethical dilemma about the type of report to submit. Should he:
1) Limit the report to a discussion of his sampling methods and results, noting clearly that this was the scope of the contract.
2) Include an additional section in his report that encourages the employer to implement multiple interventions so that machining with metalworking fluids “best practices” are met.
3) Provide the employer with best practice guidance resources as a report attachment- without making reference to the specific interventions he would propose.
4) Take a different approach: _____________________________________?
