Business Matters

Corporate Responsibility
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What have you heard about the

Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Bhopaldisaster,
the Love Canal, andTimes Beach?

2. How do you think corporations should

be held responsible when their actions
negatively impact society?

3. Who should be held responsible for a

companysmistakes? The owner? The CEO?
The government? Someone else? Why?

4. If you were a judge, how much would you handle a

case where someone contracted a deadly disease
as a result of a corporate disaster? Discuss any
factors that would influence your decision.

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

1. sound a) a suggestion
2. narrows b) to disappear
3. recommendation c) moved from one place to another
4. mortality d) results
5. contaminated e) a study
6. dissipate f) severe
7. severely g) a water passage connecting two larger bodies of water
8. extensive h) in good standard
9. displaced i) infected or damaged
10. harsh j) related to punishment, disciplinary
11. punitive k) strongly
12. up to par l) a thin passage connecting two bodies of water
13. investigation m) thorough
14. consequences n) death

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Reading
THE EX XON OIL SPILL
The Case of the Exxon Valdez

1. On March 24, 1989, an oil tanker, the Exxon Valdez, sound suffered the loss of their jobs and their sole
was in the remote Prince William Sound located means of support dissipated. Additionally, the
near the state of Alaska. seafood production industry was hurt severely.

2. A pilot guided the ship through the narrows. 5. The first attempt to clean up the spill failed.
After completing his job, he departed and turned Acompany applied a dispersant, a combination of a
the ship over to the master. After the ship was surfactant and a solvent. Unfortunately, it didnt mix
steered out of the shipping lane so as not to hit with the oil because the waters were too still. Exxon,
any icebergs, the master turned over control of the albeit slowly, began an expensive and extensive
wheel house to the third mate and instructed the cleanup along with Alaskans, Exxon employees,
able seaman to remain at the helm until the Valdez and the US Coast Guard. Some oil was displaced
returned to the shipping lane at a prearranged by hot water that was subjected to high pressure.
point. The ship never made it to a shipping lane This high pressure also hurt the plankton and
and hit Bligh Reef. As a result, over 10 million other small members of the food chain. Aquarter
gallons of oil spilled into the sound. of a century later, thousands of gallons of oil
still polluted nearby beaches, and crude oil was
3. What caused this accident? The National
still buried below the surface of the water. Only
Transportation Board determined several
about half of the monitored wildlife populations
contributing factors to the accident. First, the
inPrinceWilliam Sound had fullyrecovered.
thirdmate did not steer the ship properly. He
could have been too tired from too much work. 6. The Exxon Valdez oil spill resulted in the longest
Second, the master did not navigate. He could running environmental court case in history. In
havehad too much alcohol in his system. Third, the 1994, a jury in Alaska decided that Exxon should
Exxon Shipping Company did not provide proper pay $287 million for actual damages and five billion
supervision of its employees or an adequate staff for punitive damages to native fishermen and
for the ship. Lastly, the US Coast Guards traffic businesses that suffered hardship. Exxon felt this
system was not up to par. Recommendations was too harsh and the Court of Appeals ordered
were made and included the suggestion that the first judge to reduce damages. Damages were
Exxonexamine the work patterns of its ship crews. reduced to four billion. Exxon appealed again and
after several court battles, punitive damages were
4. Thousands of animals such as birds, otters, seals,
decreased to two and a half billion. Exxon appealed
whales, and fish and their eggs were killed. Effects
again. Exxon felt that the damages were not fair
of the deaths are still noticeable today. Populations
because it was an accident and because the company
of wildlife are still not what they used to be. Animal
spent two billion dollars cleaning up the oil. In 2007,
mortality rates increased since their food system
the Supreme Court ruled that in federal maritime
was contaminated. Effects have been projected
law, punitive damages were limited to the amount
to last up to 30 years; however, Exxon and other
of compensatory damages awarded. Exxon Valdez,
reports disagree. Besides the loss of marine life,
therefore was expected to pay just 1.25% of its
many fishermen and others whose jobs were
2007 profits. By December, 2009, Exxon had paid
dependent on the natural surroundings of the
507.5 million dollars in punitive damages.

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Vocabulary Review 1
Make a list of legal words from the reading that a
lawyer for a corporation would have to know. Define them.

Word Definition

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Pair Work (Partner A)

A. Reading

Read the short article to the right, CHEMICAL DISASTERS A TALE OF TWO CORPOR ATIONS
but do not show it to your partner.
Your partner will ask you questions In 1984, a chemical disaster of great magnitude took place in Bhopal, India.
about your article. A pesticide factory, Union Carbide, leaked methyl isocyanate gas that
killed thousands of citizens. The tank that was holding the gas overheated
and released the poisonous gas through the ground where it brought
the transportation system to a halt. Many people were trampled as they
tried to escape. Many more were exposed to the gas and thousands
still suffer the results of the disaster. Such effects include breathing
problems, cancer, birth defects, and blindness. The accident is said to
have happened because water leaked into the methyl isocyanate holding
tank. The reaction caused the temperatures to rise. The tank emitted
the gas to release the intense pressure. An explosion ensued. Reasons
for the accident, equipment and safety regulations, and prior warnings
have all been examined. Union Carbide defended itself and many legal
proceedings followed.

Another company that experienced legal proceedings due to chemical

exposure was Pacific Gas & Electric. In that case, which was settled in
1996, the company allegedly contaminated drinking water with hexavalent
chromium in Hinkley, California. The Hinkley Compressor Station is part of
a natural gas pipeline. The groundwater around the station exceeded the
legal levels of the chemical and people were suffering ill effects. Studies
have been made to both defend and prosecute Pacific Gas and Electric,
but the case was settled for $333 million. A movie was made that later
detailed the woman who was instrumental in the lawsuit, Erin Brockovich.

B. Sharing Information

Work with your partner. 1. Who used waste contaminated with dioxin?
Askthequestions to the
2. What companies were involved in the two towns?
right about your partners
reading. Write the answers 3. Where were the two towns located?
inyournotebook.
4. When did President Carter declare a federal emergency?

5. Why did CERCLA come into existence?

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Pair Work (Partner B)

A. Reading

Read the short article to the right, TOXIC WASTE A TALE OF TWO TOWNS
but do not show it to your partner.
Your partner will ask you questions There was a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York that was built on
about your article. toxic waste that had been buried years before. The neighborhood was
called Love Canal because a man named William T. Love thought a canal
connecting the Niagara River and Niagara Falls would be a good idea. The
land was later sold to the City of Niagara Falls and it used the space for
the disposal of toxic waste. Twenty years later, in 1942, Hooker Chemical
and Plastics used the site to bury toxic waste. The company sold the
site after it had been filled and it was covered with clay. The site was
sold with a caveat, but a school was built on the site and people started
experiencing health problems. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared
the area a federal emergency and people were relocated. A majority of
theareaisempty.

Times Beach was a town in the state of Missouri. This town, too, sits empty
since dioxin was discovered and people were evacuated. In the early 1970s,
a waste hauler oiled the roads. The man, named Russell Bliss, used waste
that contained dioxin from a company called Northeastern Pharmaceutical
and Chemical Company. Horses began dying in the area and investigations
ensued. The Environmental Protection Agency announced there were
dangerous levels of dioxin in Times Beach. These two towns, although
they no longer exist, can take much of the credit for the founding of the
Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act
(CERCLA) which funds the cleanup of other toxic locations.

B. Sharing Information

Work with your partner. 1. Who did they make a movie about?
Askthequestions to the
2. What companies were discussed in the reading?
right about your partners
reading. Write the answers 3. Where were the companies located?
inyournotebook.
4. When did the disasters take place?

5. Why did the Bhopal disaster happen?

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Writing
Paraphrase what you read in the main reading about the Exxon case
usinga single paragraph. Imagine that your reader knows nothing
about this case. Include the most important information, but make
sure to write the paragraph in your own words. Try to use some of
thevocabularyfrompage 1.

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Vocabulary Review 2
Choose the word closest in meaning to the
vocabulary word used in the main reading.

1. allegedly 5. emitted 9. majority

a)certainly a)released a)least

b)supposedly b)saved b)most
c)never c)helped c)some
d)occasionally d)held d)all

2. prior 6. ensued 10. fund

a)after a)changed a)save for

b)present b)charged b)hide from
c)previous c)preceded c)pay for
d)later d)followed d)keep from

3. toxic 7. disposal

a)poisonous a)collection
b)safe b)elimination
c)careful c)contraption
d)healthy d)communication

4. effects 8. caveat

a)reasons a)story
b)locations b)law
c)circumstances c)warning
d)results d)rule

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Group Work
Work with a partner. Choose two of the disasters discussed in this
lessonand compare and contrast them by filling in the Venn diagram.

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 Corporate Responsibility
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Answer Key
LESSON DESCRIPTION: LEVEL: Adv

Students read about a number of environmental disasters, TIME: 1.5 2 hours

including the Exxon Valdez oil spill near Alaska and the chemical
TAGS: environment, business, business English,
disaster in Bhopal, India. Students practice paraphrasing what
BusinessMatters, corporations, corporate responsibility,
theyread. They also work in pairs to complete a jigsaw activity.
Bhopal, India, Niagara Falls, Exxon, oil spill, diagram

Pre-Reading 2. Union Carbide and Pacific Gas and Electric

3. Union Carbide was located in Bhopal, India, and

A. WARM-UP QUESTIONS Pacific Gas and Electric was located in Hinkley, California.
4. 1984 & 1996
Individual answers. 5. The accident is said to have happened because
waterleakedinto the methyl isocyanate holding tank.
B. VOCABULARY PREVIEW

1. g 4. n 7. k 10. f 13. e Writing

2. l 5. i 8. m 11. j 14. d
3. a 6. b 9. c 12. h Individual answers.

Vocabulary Review 1 Vocabulary Review 2

Answers will vary. Some of the legal words may include: punitive 1. b 3. a 5. a 7. b 9. b
damages, Court of Appeals, to appeal, Supreme Court, plaintiff 2. c 4. d 6. d 8. c 10. c

Pair Work Group Work

B. SHARING INFORMATION Individual answers.

Partner A
SPELLING NOTES:
1. the man named Russell Bliss
This lesson shows the American spelling of the word
2. Hooker Chemical and Plastics,
Neighborhood. Most other English-speaking countries spell it
Northeastern Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company
this way: Neighbourhood. Make it a challenge for your students
3. Love Canal was located in Niagara Falls, NY,
to find this word in the lesson and see if they know the
and Times Beach was located in Missouri.
alternatespelling.
4. in 1978
5. The two towns, although they no longer exist, can
take much of the credit for the founding of the CERCLA.

Partner B

1. They made a movie about Erin Brockovich, a woman who

wasinstrumental in the Pacific Gas and Electric lawsuit.

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