Bellingham Cherry Point

Ethic Issues

The proposal to build a large multi-commodity terminal at Cherry Point of SSA Marine is opening a lot of concerns about ethical issues. The most concerned ethical issue is the proposal ignoring health, safety and environmental standards at Cherry Point and the areas that trains will cross by. The coal dust will be very difficult to control and cause major damage on human health, cleaning water supplies and living plants when it is released into the air. Moreover, marine traffic will have higher density and increase the risk of collision and oil spill. High marine traffic also creates noise pollution and excessive movement that poses a threat to fisheries and ecosystems by their reducing food supplies.

Alternative Solutions and Ethical Theory

In response to the case, we propose some alternatives resolutions as the following:

 Prepare contingency plan

 Redesign trains, ships, and routes

 Compensation Strategies

Transportation trains need to be redesigned to reduce the damage on air pollution caused by coal. The train cars need to be cover to avoid spilling dust during transportation time. Improve the loading and unloading techniques in order to minimize coal dust.

An alternative solution should come up with a preparation of contingency plans to reduce the risk of spilling coal to the ocean. A contingency plan should include all the possibilities of what could go wrong and strategies to assist in the response to the spill. Workers and equipments should be properly trained to quickly response in the event of spilling coal.

Compensation can be done in variety ways for people under the affected areas. The authorities should help paying for better insurance plans for residents who live near coal train routes and people who are impacted by coal dust. Furthermore, we recommend Carrix/SSA Marine to distribute their shares to people who are affected by the events, to give these people the right to participate in the making decision process.

The alternative solutions that we have mentioned above fit in some ethical practices such as utilitarianism, ethic of care, and liberty. Utilitarianism said "actions are right if they produce, or tend to produce the greatness amount of good for the greatest number of persons". If compensation strategies are implemented, it compensates a variety range of people who suffer the effects of the event. People who get compensation are better off in financial term, however, their health are not guaranteed. Company could practice duty of care and liberty theory by seeking relationships with people affected by the event and by giving them the rights to participate in the process.

Alternatives Analysis: Financial