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THE ETHICS OF POLLUTION CONTROL:Toxic Chemicals in Teflon

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Business Ethics ­MGT610
VU
LESSON 27
THE ETHICS OF POLLUTION CONTROL
Sometimes an everyday product choice can make a world of difference. Below are some new
studies that reveal how some cookware, raincoats, carpets, shoes and pesticides can expose the
people who manufacture them--and our families--to problematic chemicals. Check out our
healthier alternatives.
Toxic Chemicals in Teflon
New information is coming to light about the toxic effects of a chemical used in making non-
stick coatings such as Teflon. The chemical goes by the name PFOA (short for
perfluorooctanoic acid), or C8, and is also used in the manufacture of food wrap and water- and
stain-resistant fabric coatings.
Studies presented at a March 2005 national toxicology meeting show that PFOA exposure
during pregnancy causes miscarriage and low birth weight in mice; many of the exposed
offspring went on to experience delayed puberty. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), which conducted these studies, is evaluating the possible human health risks of PFOA.
Animal studies have shown that PFOA, in addition to harming development, is also linked to
hypothyroidism and cancer.
Water pollution is likewise a serious problem. About 40% of the world's surface water is too
polluted to fish or swim in. Pollution comes from agriculture, mines, oil wells, human wastes,
manufacturing, detergents, and the food industry, among other sources. Today, almost 1 billion
people lack access to safe water and the world's per capita supplies of water are shrinking.
The pollution of the land by toxic substances also causes increased mortality and illness.
Hazardous or toxic substances are those that can cause an increase in mortality rates or
irreversible or incapacitating illness, or those that have other seriously adverse health or
environmental effects. Over 58,000 different chemical compounds are currently being used in
the U.S., and the number is increasing each year. How many of these chemicals affect humans,
no one really knows. The sheer volume of solid waste is staggering: each U.S. resident
produces about seven pounds of garbage per day. Though this quantity is massive, it is not even
close to the quantity of industrial waste. The EPA estimates that about 15 million tons of toxic
waste is produced in the U.S. each year. This does not include nuclear wastes, which, because
they are so concentrated and persistent, present special problems for storage and disposal. Each
nuclear reactor produces 265 pounds of plutonium waste a year, a substance so toxic that only
twenty pounds would be sufficient to cause lung cancer in everyone on Earth. So far, no one
really knows how to dispose of this and similar wastes safely and securely.
As if pollution was not serious enough, we also must consider the depletion of species, habitats,
and natural resources. The world loses about 1% of its rain forests each year, and between 15%
and 20% of species had become extinct by 2000. Our consumption of fossil fuels has recently
been rising at exponential rates, but this cannot continue much longer because we are coming
close to the depletion point of fossil fuels. Minerals are also being depleted, so we can expect
them gradually to become more scare and expensive. This scarcity will have a serious impact
on the world economy.
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Business Ethics ­MGT610
VU
Waste categories
2.1. The following items are collected by this scheme:
a. Highly reactive chemicals.
b. Water reactive chemicals.
c. Waste that cannot pass the compatibility test (refer to Item 7.6 of Section A
"Procedures for disposal of general chemical waste").
d. Unwanted raw chemicals.
e. Expired chemicals.
2.2. The Lab pack service collects chemical wastes in liquid, solid and sludge forms.
2.3. The following items are NOT acceptable by Lab pack:
a.
Radioactive materials.
b.
Explosive materials.
c.
Shock sensitive materials.
d.
Sealed metal articles or containers.
e.
Pressurized containers.
f.
Any asbestos bearing material and articles contaminated with asbestos.
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION:Business Issues
  2. INTRODUCTION (CONTD.)
  3. THEORY OF ETHICAL RELATIVISM
  4. MORAL DEVELOPMENTS AND MORAL REASONING
  5. MORAL REASONING:Arguments For and Against Business Ethics
  6. MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND BLAME
  7. UTILITARIANISM:Utilitarianism: Weighing Social Costs and Benefits
  8. UTILITARIANISM (CONTD.):rule utilitarianism, Rights and Duties
  9. UNIVERSALIZABILITY & REVERSIBILITY:Justice and Fairness
  10. EGALITARIANS’ VIEW
  11. JOHN RAWLS' THEORY OF JUSTICE:The Ethics of Care
  12. THE ETHICS OF CARE:Integrating Utility, Rights, Justice, and Caring
  13. THE ETHICS OF CARE (CONTD.):Morality in International Contexts
  14. MORALITY IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXTS:Free Markets and Rights: John Locke
  15. FREE MARKET & PLANNED ECONOMY:FREE TRADE THEORIES
  16. LAW OF NATURE:Theory of Absolute Advantage, Comparative Advantage
  17. FREE MARKETS AND UTILITY: ADAM SMITH:Free Trade and Utility: David Ricardo
  18. RICARDO & GLOBALIZATION:Ricardo’s Assumptions, Conclusion
  19. FREE MARKET ECONOMY:Mixed Economy, Bottom Line for Business
  20. COMPETITION AND THE MARKET:Perfect Competition
  21. PERFECT COMPETITION
  22. MONOPOLY COMPETITION:Oligopolistic Competition
  23. OLIGOPOLISTIC COMPETITION:Crowded and Mature Market
  24. OLIGOPOLIES AND PUBLIC POLICY:Ethic & Environment, Ozone depletion
  25. WORLDWATCH FIGURES:Population Year, Agriculture, Food and Land Use
  26. FORESTS AND BIODIVERSITY:The Ethics of Pollution Control
  27. THE ETHICS OF POLLUTION CONTROL:Toxic Chemicals in Teflon
  28. THE ETHICS OF POLLUTION CONTROL
  29. THE ETHICS OF POLLUTION CONTROL:Recommendations to Managers
  30. COST AND BENEFITS:Basis of social audit, Objectives of social audit
  31. COST AND BENEFITS:The Ethics of Conserving Depletable Resources
  32. COST AND BENEFITS:The Club of Rome
  33. THE ETHICS OF CONSUMER PRODUCTION AND MARKETING:DSA Comments
  34. THE ETHICS OF CONSUMER PRODUCTION AND MARKETING:Should Consumers Bear More Responsibility?
  35. THE CONTRACT VIEW OF BUSINESS' DUTIES TO CONSUMERS
  36. THE CONTRACT VIEW OF BUSINESS' DUTIES TO CONSUMERS:The Due Care Theory
  37. THE SOCIAL COSTS VIEW OF THE MANUFACTURER’S DUTIES
  38. ADVERTISING ETHICS:The Benefits of Advertising, The harm done by advertising
  39. ADVERTISING ETHICS:Basic Principles, Evidence, Remedies, Puffery
  40. ADVERTISING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY:Psychological tricks
  41. ADVERTISING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY:Criticism of Galbraith's Work
  42. ADVERTISING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY:Medal of Freedom
  43. ADVERTISING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY:GENERAL RULES, Substantiation
  44. ADVERTISING IN TODAY’S SOCIETY:Consumer Privacy, Accuracy
  45. THE ETHICS OF JOB DISCRIMINATION:Job Discrimination: Its Nature