During the hurricane season (mid- and late summer), Citicorp tower engineers developed elaborate emergency evacuation plans. This was at the time when New York City was most vulnerable to the threats of structural failure as a result of wind speeds. However, these plans were not revealed to the general public, shop and office workers, other property owners, tens of thousands of residents, people in the neighborhood (Kremer, 2010). These are people were to be informed only in the event of a hurricane looming over New York. According to Red Cross estimates, as much as 200,000 people would have lost their lives had the Citicorp building collapsed.
When a fatal flaw was noted just a year after completion of the Citicorp, the engineers undertook repairs that were kept secret from the public until about twenty years after completion. William LeMessurier, the structural engineer, misleading reports were given to the media regarding the reasons for the retrofit (Kremer, 2010). None of the engineering, architectural and legal professional, contractors, or public official tasked within preventing the disaster came forward to correct what was clearly known to them as false news release or the misrepresentations given by Citicorp Officers, LeMessurier, and the Department of Buildings. This was contrary to the requirements of Canon 3 of the National Society of professional Engineers Code of Ethics which directs engineers to relay public statements in an objective and truthful manner (Kremer, 2010).
LeMessurier justified his action to withhold the public safety information by saying there was no need to spread terror to people who did not need to be terrorized. While the desire to avert public panic is in itself a legitimate reasons for choosing a course of action, keeping secret informs from a multitude of persons whose safety is questionable over such great length of time was not a genuine alternative (Kremer, 2010).
References:
Kremer, E. (2010). (Re)examining the Citicorp Case: ethical paragon or chimera? Retrieved from: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1043644.files/1-7_Kremer_Citicorp.pdf.
