Whistleblowing Essay

Whistle-blowing is used to draw attention to an unethical or illegal activity and or behaviour. There are many difficulties in being a successful whistle-blower. The individual or individuals who whistle-blow are faced with: intimidation, harassment and retaliation; as well as the dilemma of being loyal to the company who pays them or serving the public’s best interests. There is always the possibility of losing their job and being put in a position where they will no longer be able to work in the industry. The above are just a few examples of the difficulties a whistle-blower can expect. George Galatis, who worked for Northeast Utilities as a senior engineer, discovered and blew the whistle on Northeast Utilities unsafe operating procedures

In the case of the Millstone power plant there was a very important need, the need of public safety. As an engineer the most important thing is public health and safety. The operating procedures at Millstone power plant were extremely reckless and dangerous. A nuclear accident could have easily occurred, by either the spent-fuel pool overheating: which would cause the water to boil and radioactive steam would be released into the air. Or if the spent-fuel pool drained: a full melt down of fuel rods could occur causing a nationwide disaster close to that of Chernobyl. Exposure to radiation damages the DNA structure and can have many different effects on people such as: death or causing cancer. Wildlife and the environment are also heavily affected by radiation exposure. A nuclear accident can also have long term effects by making the surrounding areas uninhabitable for centuries, as well as the DNA damage being passed down onto younger generations. Thus there was a need for whistle-blowing to occur, because the public were unknowingly being placed in danger, where a single event could have caused a full scale nuclear disaster.