Scenario
XYZ Corporation owns a landfill that was acquired in thepurchase of a small waste management company 30 years ago. Duringroutine testing of the soil surrounding the landfill a technicianof the company discovered that the soil on the west side of thelandfill showed evidence of heavy metals which may be carcinogenic(cause cancer) to humans and animals. If the source of thecontamination is not located and contained, the chemicals mightenter the public water supply by draining into the local reservoir.The cost of cleaning up the chemical contamination could be verylarge. The Vice President of the company in charge of the landfillhas been given the test results. When he informed the CEO of thesituation he was told to ignore the results and continue operatingthe landfill. The Vice President is trying to determine his courseof action.
Pick one of the Theories of Ethics and answer the followingquestions:
Who are the potential stakeholders who may or may not beaffected by the above situation?
What actions if any should the Vice president take or nottake?
Explain your answers.
Would your answers change if you applied one of the othertheories of ethics?
