Matthew Ward X10359973

An analysis of Sellafeld and if the

actions and decisions it has made
have been morally riht !nder two
ethical theories
"!siness
#thics
Sellafeld $%&
Introduction & Ethical Scenario
%he ethical scenario ' will be analysin in this essay will be in relation to
Sellafeld $%&(s n!clear com)le* and the )oll!tion and radiation it creates
a+ectin the )eo)le and environment in West ,!mbria- ' will be a))lyin the
ethical theories of .tilitarianism and ,are to determine whether the case is
deemed !nethical or not-
%he Sellafeld n!clear com)le* is located on the coast of ,!mbria in the .-/- 't
was oriinally set !) to )rod!ce )l!toni!m for the "ritish n!clear wea)ons
)roramme0 however it has since been !sed for more commercial o)erations
s!ch as n!clear re)rocessin facilities and f!el fabrications 12reen)eace3
40156-Since the early 1950(s Sellafeld has been d!m)in its radioactive waste
into the 'rish Sea and ca!sin radiation levels in the s!rro!ndin area to be
hiher than normal- %his has had a bi e+ect on the west coast of #nland and
most notably west ,!mbria in terms of s!s)ected health ris7s and damae to the
s!rro!ndin environment 18ratt3 19996- 'n 4011 it was anno!nced that the
dischares of radioactive waste into the 'rish Sea from the n!clear re)rocessin
)lants was set to do!ble d!e to an increase in re)rocessin which has been
)lanned by the :-&-A 1:-;-83 40116- <owever this decision has been heavily
scr!tinised as it wo!ld )!t the .-/ 2overnment in breach of its commitment
!nder the =slo>8aris convention which areed to brin artifcial radioactivity
levels down to ?ero by 40403 Sellafeld however deny that the amo!nt of
dischare will still be very m!ch below the leal limit 1#dwards3 40116- 'n 4005
the :-&-A 1:ational &ecommissionin A!thority6 was set !) and started wor7in
in con@!nction with Sellafeld $%&3 it has foc!sed )rimarily on cleanin the siht
!) and im)lemented decommissionin )roramme c!rrently in )lace on many of
the sites within the com)le* 1W-:-:3 40136- %he )roramme has been set !) to
and )rovides more eAcient waste manaement3 with their main strateic )riority
to )rovide the hihest standards in sec!rity3 safety and environmental
manaement 1:-&-A3 40156-
Costs & Benefts of Operations in West Cumbria
My overall view on the ethical scenario in B!estion is that the com)any has been
behavin in an !nethical manor since it bean its o)erations- "y a))lyin the
theories ' will determine whether my view on the matter is correct and if the
actions of the com)any have been morally wron or riht- ' will loo7 at some of
the benefts and costs of Sellafeld to its local vicinity of west ,!mbria-
At the moment the site em)loys a total of 103000 )eo)le 1Smith3 40156 and with
4-33 million )eo)le 17-4C6 still !nem)loyed in the .-/ the level of em)loyment
which the site )rovides is very im)ortant 1"-"-, news3 40156- 8lans to b!ild 3
new reactors which are aimin to start constr!ction in 4040 )rovidin they are
im)roved are estimated to )rovide another 9000 @obs d!rin the constr!ction
)hase as well as 1000 )ermanent @obs once the reactors are in )lace3 the
em)loyment which Sellafeld )rovides also has a )ositive 7noc7 on e+ect on the
local area3 with an increase in the demand for )ro)erty and also increased s)end
in the local sho)s and the added investment into the area wo!ld allow to
im)rovements to thins s!ch as roads and also the coastal railway 1Whittle3
40156- %he :-M-8 who are the )arent body of Sellafeld $%& have also shown their
commitment to the local area by investin a re)orted 44-5 million in local
oranisations and the economy since 400D3 it also )rovides a comm!nity f!nd
which it rants E5003000 to every year to hel) s!))ort locals 3 vol!nteers
comm!nity ro!)s in west ,!mbria 1Sellafeld $%&3 40136- Sellafeld $%& has
s)ent over 1 billion )o!nds with west ,!mbrian s!))ly chain com)anies over the
last 5 years and the develo)ment of the local s!))ly chain is somethin which is
rearded as very im)ortant 1Sellafeld $%&3 40136- %he com)any have also
)romoted the im)ortance of ed!cation as )art of their stratey and have
invested in ,!mbria(s Westla7es Academy Science de)artment3 enhancin the
level of teachin and im)rovin the overall c!rric!l!m than7s to the com)any(s
e*)ertise in the area- %his not only is benefcial for the children b!t also for
Sellafeld as it will allow them to identify !)comin talent in the area 1Westla7es
Academy3 40146-
<owever over the last two decades it has been heavily ar!ed that children who
live in the vicinity of the com)le* are a lot more s!sce)tible to health ris7s most
notably cancer and le!7aemia d!e to the dischare of low level radiation3 st!dies
in 2ermany have also shown an increased level of le!7aemia in children !nder
the ae of 5 who live within a 57m radi!s of n!clear sites- <owever st!dies in the
.-/ claim that n!clear com)le*es are not the ca!se of increased cancer rates so
the debate contin!es 1&orfman3 40116- As already stated above the radioactive
waste which is dischared into the 'rish sea has had a dist!rbin e+ect on sea
life with many of the animals becomin radioactive themselves and some even
m!tated3 lobsters fo!nd in the 'rish Sea contain levels of %c>99 1%itani!m>996 50
times hiher than the #-. food intervention level3 the ,!mbrian coast line also
has hih traces of %c>99- <owever it is not @!st sea animals that are a+ected as
seen bac7 in 4003 when venison had to be reta7en from stores all across the .-/
d!e to the levels of radiation they had been e*)osed to before sla!hter 1Moret3
40096- 'f there was to ever be a ma@or disaster or meltdown at the site it wo!ld
have de)artmental conseB!ences on the s!rro!ndin environment which wo!ld
have to be abandoned as a res!lt3 it wo!ld also contaminate all the food and
have a ma@or im)act on the economy 18ratt3 19996-
Theory 1: tilitarianism
%he frst theory ' will be a))lyin is !tilitarianism which is a conseB!ential theory-
%his theory is basically the morale worth of an action based on the conseB!ences
of the action- All of the costs and benefts associated with the ethical dilemma
are considered- %he theory will )resent the best o)tion for the ethical dilemma
in terms of how the cor)oration(s actions ma*imise ood and minimise harm
18arboteeah F ,!llen3 40136
After close analysis of the ethical scenario and also the costs of benefts that
come with it ' have come to the concl!sion that the !tilitarianism does not
s!))ort my view on the case as more )eo)le in the vicinity )roft from Sellafeld
then don(t- Altho!h there are clear im)lications for )o)!lation and environment
s!rro!ndin Sellafeld the theory allows for the fact that harm can occ!r from any
decision and instead foc!sses on the reater ood- 'n this case ' believe that
!nder the !tilitarianism theory the benefts which in s!e from Sellafeld in terms
of the em)loyment they )rovide and the economic beneft to the local vicinity
that stem from the com)any have a bier im)act and o!tweih the
environmental and health costs which come as a conseB!ence of the com)any(s
o)erations- 'f Sellafeld where to s!ddenly move away from the area or cease
o)erations all toether the economic bac7lash wo!ld be h!e3 tho!sands of
)eo)le wo!ld lose their @obs which wo!ld then see the amo!nt of cons!mer
s)end fall dramatically which wo!ld ca!se local b!siness(s to close ca!sin the
entire area to o into decline-
'n the conte*t of the ethical scenario the theory has both its strenths and
wea7nesses- =ne advantae of the a))lication of this theory for Sellafeld is that
it allows the com)any to a!e the im)act of oranisational decision ma7in3 by
weihin !) the costs and benefts of an ethical dilemma3 the theory does not
ma7e any )reference to any s)ecifc ro!)s a+ected by the decision3 instead it
foc!ses on the im)act that the com)anies actions have on the ma@ority a+ected
18arboteeah et al3 40136- So in this Sellafeld wo!ld not ta7e into acco!nt the
o)inions of the families whose children had contracted le!7aemia as these
families wo!ld be a minority of the overall )o)!lation connected with the
com)any3 so the theory allows Sellafeld to ma7e decisions in a more ob@ective
manor by ma7in its decision based on the reatest amo!nt of ood which stems
from that decision-
<owever there are wea7nesses with the theory which can be hihlihted in this
case- .tilitarianism inores both @!stice and h!man rihts- Sellafeld do not ta7e
res)onsibility for em)loyees who are over e*)osed to radioactivity while wor7in
and who may e*)erience health )roblems either with themselves or those close
to them- As mentioned above foc!sin on the overall im)act of the decision aids
a com)any in the decision ma7in )rocess3 b!t decisions made on that basis can
have a very neative e+ect for those a+ected3 however !nder !tilitarianism this
is irrelevant as the )eo)le a+ected are viewed as @!st another n!mber in the
overall s!m- %his then )oses the ar!ment of how e*actly yo! are s!))osed to
meas!re s!ch thins as health and life3 it is almost im)ossible to meas!re s!ch
thins- And costs and benefts may also be diAc!lt to )redict for e*am)le '
believe it diAc!lt for Sellafeld to meas!re the cost of a n!clear disaster and the
im)act it wo!ld have- =verall the theory lac7s emotion foc!sin more on the
economic im)act which as already stated above in Sellafelds case is h!e-
Theory !: Ethics of Care
%he second theory ' will be a))lyin is the ethics of care theory which is a non>
conseB!ential theory- %his theory o!tlines that in order for a com)any to be seen
as behavin in an ethical manor it m!st show s)ecial care to the )eo)le whom
they have a val!able and close relationshi)- ,om)anies sho!ld loo7 after those
they are close to by attendin to )artic!lar needs3 desires well>bein3 )artic!larly
those who are v!lnerable and de)endant on the com)anies care 1GelasB!e?3
40096
Aain after analysin the case and how Sellafeld have cond!cted themselves in
terms of the )eo)le they hold close relationshi)s ' have come to the concl!sion
that the ethics of care theory also does not s!))ort my views on the case- As
already stated above Sellafeld )rovide a lot of benefts and show fair
consideration to the )eo)le who are located within its vicinity and connected to
the com)any is some way- %hey have invested heavily in the local comm!nity3
hel)in to )romote and im)rove the standards of ed!cation and standards of
livin in eneral by investin in local b!siness for e*am)le as already mentioned
Sellafeld !se a local s!))ly chain to ain materials- %he com)any also contrib!te
to local comm!nity f!nds which hel) the more de)endants in the area- 't can be
ar!ed that the health ris7s which are related to the com)anies( o)erations
however re)orts in the .-/ are still inconcl!sive in reards to this matter and it is
tho!ht that children livin close to Sellafeld only have a 1C increase in the
chances of ettin cancer as o))osed to children who don(t live in the vicinity
1,ancer Hesearch .-/3 40106-
'n reards to the strenths and wea7nesses of this theory ' believe the main
strenth of this theory is it allows com)anies s!ch as Sellafeld to f!re o!t who
e*actly they need to loo7 after3 who are they oblied to hel) and beneft3 the
theory hel)s the com)any be concise in who they show consideration towards
and how m!ch they show- Sellafelds o)erations are controversial as it is in the
eyes of many- "!ildin ood relationshi)s with )eo)le they are connected with
im)roves )eo)le(s )ers)ective of the com)any and hel)s enhance their
re)!tation and also ive a sense of comm!nity s)irit- Another strenth of the
theory on )a)er is that claims that ethics m!st be im)artial3 which means that in
ethics everyone sho!ld be treated the same3 ' thin7 this is a strenth beca!se if
a com)any acts im)artial then nobody within the networ7 of care sho!ld feel as
if they are bein treated !nfairly 1GelasB!e?3 40096-
%he theory however does have some wea7nesses3 ethics of care em)hasises
)artiality which mean if the )erson or co!ntry a+ected is o!tside the com)any(s
networ7 of care they will not be iven the same consideration as if they were
inside- 'n Sellafelds case while they have shown a reat deal of care to the
)eo)le of ,!mbria there has been other co!ntries a+ected by their d!m)in of
radioactive waste into the 'rish Sea- :orway have to fallen victim to hih levels of
%c>99 fo!nd in their lobsters3 they however have not been iven the same level
of care as they miht feel they deserve 1Moret3 40096- %he idea of
,omm!nitarian ethics which is associated with ethics of care can also act as a
wea7ness in the conte*t of this ethical scenario as individ!als in the area may
have di+erent relationshi) with the com)any and di+erent val!es and standards
however !nder the theory )eo)le are considered more as a comm!nity instead
of an individ!al which may not favo!r everyone-
Conclusion
'n concl!sion to this essay ' )ersonally feel that the damae to the environment
and increased health ris7s which Sellafeld are res)onsible for sho!ld be deemed
as they com)any actin in an !nethical manor3 however after analysin the
com)any !sin both theories ' can see that the ethical scenario in B!estion does
not ma7e the com)any(s actions one which is !nethical-
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