ETHICS IN THE LABORATORY

Transcription

1 REMIX

2 ETHICS IN THE LABORATORY Why TNI requires annual training in Data Integrity. Keith Chapman, Lab Manager, City of Salem, Oregon (retired) CWEA2018 August 22, 2018

3 Annual Laboratory Training?

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5 Annual Data Integrity Training

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7 TNI Standard Definition of Data Integrity* The condition that exists when data are sound, correct, and complete and accurately reflects activities and requirements. It is achieved by preventing accidental or deliberate but unauthorized insertion, modification or destruction of data. Appears 27 times in TNI Standard

8 TNI Data Integrity System There are four (4) required elements within a data integrity system. 1) training in data integrity, 2) signed data integrity documentation for all laboratory employees, 3) in-depth, periodic monitoring of data integrity, 4) data integrity procedure documentation. SAY IT!/DO IT!/DOCUMENT IT!

9 V1M Data Integrity Training. At a minimum, the following topics and activities shall be included: Feel free to read these topics at your own leisure.

10 SO: WHY DO WE NEED INTEGRITY TRAINING? Why not just hire Ethical People? (People who enjoy testing or working around body fluids are generally an honest, altruistic group)

11 I am an ethical person. I will do the right thing even if no one knows I will do the right thing even if under pressure I want other people to consider me to be honest and ethical. I will do the right thing even if no one else is doing it.

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13 A Laboratory s Fall from Excellence to Fraud

14 The Supervisor at Appalachian Labs in Kentucky, admitted to a charge of conspiracy to violate the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) in October, The fraudulent activity began when he was hired in 2008, and continued through his employment which ended in July 2013.

15 Other laboratory employees were implicated, including the laboratory manager. Court records show the Supervisor and other laboratory employees falsified and rendered inaccurate water samples by diluting them or replacing them with water they knew to be in compliance with permit standards and by not keeping water samples temperature preserved as required.

16 Why Do Good People Do Bad Things? COST PRESSURE (Money) INCREMENTALLY UNETHICAL It s only ph It s only a few minutes late. It s only waste water! ETHICAL BLINDNESS

17 Self Survey #2 I am an ethical person. I will do the right thing even if no one knows I will do the right thing even if under pressure I want other people to consider me to be honest and ethical. I will do the right thing even if no one else is doing it.

18 ETHICAL BLINDNESS

19 ETHICAL BLINDNESS Inability to see the ethical dimension of a decision Unaware of deviating from the rules. You are not acting reasonably Context overpowers reason Situational context Organizational context Societal context

20 ETHICAL BLINDNESS Framing: Narrows your focus to a smaller part of the situation around you.

21 ETHICAL BLINDNESS Framing can enhance your performance Frees you from distractions Framing can distort your perception Too narrow focus that misses the bigger picture But don t we have control of our framing?

22 ETHICAL BLINDNESS Three famous social science experiments on the effect of context on human behavior: Solomon Asch (1951) Stanley Milgram (1963) Philip Zimbardo (1971)

23 Asch Experiment

24 Asch Experiment Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence).

25 Milgram Experiment h?v=yr5cjyokvus

26 Milgram Experiment

27 Milgram Experiment

28 Milgram Experiment Conclusions: Ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, even to the extent of harming an innocent human being. People tend to obey orders from other people if they recognize their authority as morally right and / or legally based.

29 Zimbardo Experiment

30 Zimbardo Experiment A planned two-week investigation into the psychology of prison life had to be ended prematurely after only six days because of what the situation was doing to the 24 college students who participated. In only a few days, the guards became sadistic and the prisoners became depressed and showed signs of extreme stress.

31 Conclusions: Zimbardo Experiment Guards and prisoners readily absorbed their roles and stepped beyond predicted behaviors. Zimbardo himself was so absorbed in his role as superintendent that he allowed these acts to continue, i.e. he was not a neutral observer. Of the fifty observers who looked in on the experiment only one questioned its morality. The context led to the extreme behaviors more so than the participant s personalities.

32 Ethical Blindness Context has a surprisingly powerful effect on human behavior. Situational Organizational Societal The person(s) involved are likely not aware of any unethical behavior because of narrow framing.

33 Recent Examples The Volkswagen Diesel Cheating in The Challenger Disaster Inquiry in The Ford Pinto

34 Framing a situation too narrowly can distort your vision of reality such that you are blind to its ethical dimensions Ethical Blindness

35 Ethical Blindness Good people can do Bad Things but are less likely to do so given the right context. Free of undue pressure Keep the big picture in mind Have clear rules of practice Discuss them openly

36 Why Act Ethically Your personal reputation and the reputation of your organization or business depends upon it Decisions we make as chemists and environmental professionals affect the environment and the lives of others The penalties for misconduct for you and your organization can be substantial

37 To Be Clear It is OK to make a mistake It is NOT OK to hide that mistake It is OK to have QC out of limits It is NOT OK to hide QC that is out of limits or make it appear to be within limits when it is not. There are potentially severe consequences for scientific misconduct that can affect you and your lab. Good communication can be key to prevention of these problems!

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39 Thank You Keith Chapman 2 Da Vinci St. Lake Oswego OR keith.chapman6023@gmail.com

40 Why do Improper Practices Occur? TO MAKE QC PASS! (this is WRONG!) Bench Reasons: to avoid re-running sample to avoid instrument maintenance to avoid missing sample holding times to avoid getting in trouble with boss Management Reasons: to avoid looking bad to upper management to avoid financial penalties on contract please client

41 Quick Review Lab Fraud / Scientific Misconduct Has intent behind it Is not an accident or mistake Is not acceptable for any reason Can destroy careers Prevention DOCUMENT / Communicate problems immediately Take time to do it right! Don t take short cuts Follow the SOP / Method Expect some QC to fail on occasion