After the Second World War, engineers in America became increasingly aware of the social impact of their work. A sequence of events starting with use of the atomic bomb in the war continuing with the incidents such as the Three Mile Island disaster, the Ford Pinto case, and the Union Carbide explosion at Bhopal, generated a significant concern in the media and the public about the effects of technology and engineering on human well-being. Corporations and governments received a fair amount of blame for these events. Deriving from these concerns, the Engineering Council for Professional Development (ECPD) that had adopted a code of ethics in 1947 was forced to renew its interest in ethics in engineering. EPCD made it a leading duty for engineers to ‘have due regard for the safety of life and health of the public.
The self-regulating NSPE in America also released Canons of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct for Engineers, which evolved into its current Code of Ethics, adopted in 1964. The NSPE code led in 1981 to the adoption of „Fundamental Canons,‟ the first being to „Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public.’ Protection of public health, welfare and safety was likewise introduced into engineering regulation in Canada in the 1990s.
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Gurmeet Bambrah, is the founder of TalentHunt360