SECTION B : CASE STUDY
Whistle-Blowing and the Environment
Katherine works as a clerk for Bio Chemist Services, a small toxic-waste disposal company.
The company has a contract to dispose of medical waste from a local hospital. During the
course of her work, Katherine comes across documents that suggest Bio Chemist has actually
been disposing of some of this medical waste in a local municipal landfill. Katherine is
shocked. She knows this practice is illegal. And even though only a small portion of the medical
waste that Bio Chemist handles is disposed of this way, any amount at all seems a worrisome
threat to public health.
Katherine gathers the appropriate documents and takes them to her immediate superior, David.
David says, “Look, I don't think that sort of thing is your concern, or mine. We're in charge of
record keeping, not making decisions about where this stuff gets dumped. I suggest you drop
it.” The next day, Katherine decides to go one step further and talk to Sophia Anne, the
company's operations manager. Sophia is clearly irritated.
Sophia says, “This isn't your concern. Look, these are the sorts of cost-cutting moves that let a
little company like ours compete with our giant competitors.
Besides, everyone knows that the regulations in this area are overly cautious. There's no real
danger to anyone from the tiny amount of medical waste that 'slips' into the municipal dump. I
consider this matter closed.”
Katherine considers her situation. The message from her superiors was loud and clear. She
strongly suspects that making further noises about this issue could jeopardize her job. Further,
she generally has faith in the company's management. They've always seemed like honest,
trustworthy people. But she is troubled by this apparent disregard for public safety. On the
other hand, she asks herself whether maybe Sophia is right in arguing that the danger is
minimal.
Question:
c) What do you think Katherine should do? Explain your reasoning
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