Ethical Issues In Water Pollution Essay

Water contamination is a major issue, both to humans and the environment. There are many ethical issues surrounding companies who may contribute to water contamination and those who govern water safety. Water contamination events can cause nationwide concern, such as the drinking water in the city of Flint, Michigan and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Water contamination can have disastrous consequences for the human population with effects such as birth defects and non-communicable diseases. According to the textbook, there is a good chance that future wars will be fought over access to water and other resources. This means fresh (non-contaminated) water should be a resource we work hard to preserve before it is too late. In the end, a question of the ethics and morality of companies making cost-cutting measures in lieu of added safety precautions is raised. Should companies be obligated to preserve the environment and the health of their shareholders at the cost of a higher profit? Discussed here will be the causes and effects of the different events as well as their ethical repercussions and reasoning. According to Norman …show more content…
There was an explosion on April 20, 2010 on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which was leased by BP. The blast led to eleven deaths and consequently caused the oil rig to sink. Almost five million barrels of oil were spilled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Three months later, the oil spill was capped, but the widespread damage went far beyond that period of time. The disaster affected the physical and mental health of the oil cleanup workers, the marine and coastal wildlife, the overall environment and the ecosystem of the Gulf. The economy of the Gulf Coast area was also damaged due to unusable beaches and the contaminated seafood fisheries previously caught and sold for a