You've probably heard the news on the trapped miners out in Utah. You can find the latest here.
Interestingly, the coverage on this always mentions the safety record of the mine (which has apparently had lots of violations in the past).
"Over the past three years, the mine was cited at least 300 times -- with 118 of those citations for violations serious enough to cause death, records show."
So... of course we don't want to jump to conclusions, but it leaves several interesting ethical questions looming, such as:
Is the owner of the mine responsible for the deaths of these miners (if they don't make it), due to not resolving the safety problems in the past?
Even if it can be shown to be an accident, does the past record of the mine still have a normative impact on the current crisis?
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5 comments:
Assuming the miners are dead:
I don't recall the source, but I saw a guest on CNN the other day saying that the safety record of this Utah mine is relatively good (i.e. 300 safety violations is far fewer than the number recorded at comparable mines elsewhere)
If I were a relativist, I would say that this comparatively clean safety record absolves the CEO/owner from blame. But I'm not - but I'm not sure that the mine's ownership is to blame anyways; mining is an inherently dangerous activity. Presumably the miners knew the risks and the safety infractions of the mine in which they were working. My claim is that so long as the miners were willing and informed participants in working in the mine, the owners are not to blame. It was a tragic accident, but all involved knew the risks they were bearing by participating.
The workers knew the risks of mining and the risks of working in that particular mine. They accepted that as a reality and the owners have no responsibility for the accident. The miners did not have to work there.
i do agree that the miners knew the risks of working in the mines and they still decided to pursue carreers as miners. however, if it is true what witnesses say about the mining company firing employees who spoke up or threatened them based on concerns for their own safety i think that the mining company does own some of the blame even if it was an accident. i think the mining company has a responsibility to let workers concerns be voiced. in the end it was still the workers who made the decision to go into the mines even though they knew the dangers involved. ive known a few prisoners of war and they dont blame the military or our government for what happened to them. they realized that there was inherent danger in what they were doing and they accepted it just as the miners did.
I think the owner has a duty to keep the mine as safe as he can. Obviously he has room for improvement. If it was deemed an accident there was nothing the owner could have done; even if he did have a sterling safety record. The miners assume the risk of an accident every time they step into the mine.
It's the responsibility of the owner to ensure the safety of his employees. If there were noted violations that have not been corrected, they contributed to the accident, and he has had a reasonable time to do it, then he should be severely punished and held liable.
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