A fresh engineering graduate gets a job in the prestigious chemical industry. She likes the work. The salary is also good. However, after a few months, she accidentally discovers that highly toxic waste is being secretly discharged into a river nearby. This is causing health problems to the villagers downstream who depend on the river for their water needs. She is perturbed and mentions her concern to her colleagues who have been with the company for longer periods. They advise her to keep quiet as anyone who mentions the topic is summarily dismissed. She cannot risk losing her job as she is the sole bread-winner for her family and has to support her ailing parents and siblings. At first, she thinks that if her seniors are keeping quiet, why she should stick out her neck. But her conscience pricks her to do something to save the river and the people who depend upon it. At heart, she feels that the advice of silence given by her friends is not correct though she cannot give reasons for it. She thinks you are a wise person and seeks your advice.

a) What arguments can you advance to show her that keeping quiet is not morally right?
b) What course of action would you advise her to adopt and why?

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Solution

Discharging toxic waste in a river which is a source of drinking water for villagers will injure their health. But the villagers are unaware of it since the poisonous effluents are discharged secretively. When she knows that an act is harming innocent people, It becomes her moral duty to alert the villagers. If one becomes cognizant of all illegality, especially within an organisation one is working, it becomes her legal duty to inform the authorities. Otherwise, one will be colluding, though not directly, in an illegal act.

At a minimum, the villagers have to be tipped off so that they can at least take preventive steps to protect their health.

(b)
As she cannot afford to lose her job, she has to tread cautiously and indirectly. She can ask a reliable acquaintance to approach local authorities to test the river water quality. He/she should not bring her name into the matter. As a measure of abundant caution, he/she may in turn request another person or group to approach authorities for testing the river water quality. To stay in the background, she should not sign any applications or fill in any forms. She can also discreetly find out if the villagers are suffering from any water pollution-related diseases. The local PHC can be alerted through third parties about the source of pollution. PHC will get the water tested. Authorities will force the company to stop dumping toxic waste.

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