PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICES - COLUMN 164
Topical Index-Table of Contents to the Professional Ethics and Practices Columns
A topically based Index-Table of Contents, “pe&p index.xls” cov ering columns, articles, and letters to the editor that have been referred to in the PE&P columns in Excel format is on the AIPG web site in the Ethics section. This Index-Table of Contents is updated as each issue of the TPG is published. You can use it to find those items addressing a particular area of concern. Suggestions for improvements should be sent to David Abbott,
dmageol@msn.com
Compiled by David M. Abbott, Jr., CPG-04570, 5055 Tamarac Street, Denver, CO 80238, 303-394-0321,
dmageol@msn.com
Protecting the public’s health, safety, and welfare versus confidentiality
One of the most important points Bernard Gert makes in his Common Morality: Deciding What to Do is that moral or ethical analysis cannot decide all ethical or moral questions.1 This is a result of different people giving different weights to various morally or ethically desirable principles. The result is that people on either side of a debate can have thoughtfully considered bases for their opposing positions. Abortion and capital punishment are two widely recognized examples of such moral disagreements. Those on opposing sides should recog- nize the valid bases for opposing views and agree to disagree where a mutually agreeable solution for moving forward cannot be reached.
In the geoscience professional ethics world, the two principal ethical prin- ciples that come into conflict are the protection of the public’s health, safety, and welfare on one side and maintain- ing the confidentiality of an employer’s or client’s confidential information on the other. The oldest geoscience profes- sional ethics code I’m aware of, the 1924 edition of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Code of Ethics,2 makes clear that when public protection and confidentiality come into conflict, public protection has primacy over con- fidentiality.
ARTICLE III. RELATION OF GEOLOGIST TO EMPLOYER
SECTION 1. A geologist should protect,
to the fullest extent possible, the interests of his employer so far as consistent with
the public welfare and his professional obligations.
SECTION 2. A geologist who finds that
his obligations to his employer conflict with his professional obligations should notify his employer of that fact. If the objectionable condition persists, the geolo- gist should sever his connection with his employer.
SECTION 3. A geologist should not
allow himself to become or remain identi- fied with any enterprise of questionable character.
The primacy of public protection over confidentiality remains as a part of many geoscience ethics codes.
The AIPG Code of Ethics states in relevant parts:
Canon 2. Obligations to the Public: Members shall uphold the public health, safety, and welfare in the performance of professional activities, and avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
Standard 2.1 Members shall observe
and comply with the requirements and intent of all applicable laws, codes, and regulations.
Rule 2.1.3 If a Member becomes aware
of a decision or action by an employer, client, or colleague which violates any law or regulation, the Member shall advise against such action, and when such viola- tion appears to materially affect the public health, safety, or welfare, shall advise the appropriate public officials responsible for the enforcement of such law or regulation. (
http://aipg.org/codeofethics).
The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration’s (SME) Code of Ethics for Registered Members states, “The first responsibility and the highest duty of members shall at all times be the wel-
fare, health and safety of the community.” (
http://www.smenet.org/membership/ join-or-renew/registered-membership). The interpretation of this clause states,
The principle here is that the interests of
the community have priority over the inter- ests of others. It follows that a member:
a. shall avoid assignments that may
create a conflict between the interests of the member’s client or employer and the public interest;
b. shall work in conformity with accept-
able technological standards and not in a manner that jeopardizes public welfare, health or safety;
c. shall endeavor at all times to maintain technological services essential to public welfare;
d. shall in the course of the member’s professional life endeavor to promote the wellbeing of the community and, if the member’s judgment is overruled in a particular instance, inform the client or employer of the possible consequences (and, if appropriate under the circum- stances, notify the proper authority of the situation);
e. shall contribute to public discussion
on scientific and technological matters in the member’s area of competence, if the member believes that it would con- structively advance the well-being of the community.
The American Geosciences Institute Guidelines for Ethical Professional Conduct (2015) state (in relevant parts): “In day-to-day activities geoscientists should: … Keep privileged information con- fidential, except when doing so constitutes a threat to public health, safety, or welfare. … As members of a professional and sci- entific community, geoscientists should: … Use their technical knowledge and skills to
2. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, AAPG Code of Ethics, March 26, 1924, AAPG Bulletin, v. 8, p. 382-385.
www.aipg.org Oct.Nov.Dec 2017 • TPG 35
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