Will conflicts of interest ruin oil spill tests in the Gulf?

« Respect confidentiality | Home | Duchess of York commits “grubby” ethical breach »

Will conflicts of interest ruin oil spill tests in the Gulf?

By Lauren | May 24, 2010

Wouldn’t you think things were bad enough in the Gulf of Mexico? The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has already dumped millions of gallons of crude into the waters of the Gulf and ugly residues are starting to wash ashore. The New York Times reported Friday that local environmental officials in the Gulf states are scrambling to collect samples to track pollution levels resulting from the spill. Trouble is, the Times also reported that the laboratory that will analyze almost all of those samples is part of an oil and gas services company in Texas that counts BP and other oil firms among its biggest clients.

Do we have a potential conflict of interest here? You bet.

In fairness, the relationship between the lab and the big oil companies won’t necessarily keep lab scientists from performing an unbiased analysis of samples from the spill. If the lab’s scientists are ethical and strong-willed enough, they’ll truthfully report test results no matter what the potential harm to their business relationships. It’s also possible that BP and other oil companies will recognize that pressuring the lab to downplay damage from the spill could easily backfire into a massive public relations nightmare, or that they’ll even voluntarily choose to do the right thing, encourage the lab to honestly and fully report their findings, and then step up to lead the cleanup efforts.

Okay, maybe I’m dreaming. Or maybe this is an unprecedented opportunity for an industry with a well-deserved bad reputation to clean up its act in every sense. There has never been an oil spill of this magnitude, and it will change the Gulf coast for decades - if not forever - no matter what immediate test results show. If the oil industry wants to sell to future generations of customers, this is its chance to take the long view, think about the public good, and act responsibly to ensure that the mess is accurately measured and carefully cleaned up. Yes, it would cost money, but so would misrepresenting the level of damage done, pressuring labs to alter test results, bribing officials to look the other way, and playing procedural games in court so that people injured by the spill get less than they deserve. Please do the right thing, BP, and leave the scientists alone.

To read the New York Times article, click here.

Share and Enjoy:

Topics: Business Ethics, Legal Ethics, Risk Management, Social Ethics, business communications, corporate responsibility, customer relations, ethics |