You are the health director of a small town. The town was hit very hard by the e

You are the health director of a small town. The town was hit very hard by the economic downturn. Three years ago, a pesticide factory named Pestico
opened up in the town and has employed over 4,000 people. Most of the employees are young men between the ages of 18 and 35. The owners of the
factory seem to be very invested in helping boost the economy of the town and the company has sponsored lots of town improvement projects. People
joke that the mayor’s wish is the company’s command.
In the years since the factory opened, several of the young men who work there have gotten married and the towns’ residents have noticed that the
majority of these couples seem to be struggling with infertility. There are whispers around town that the young men are being exposed to something
dangerous at the factory. One woman sends you an angry email with a link to an article in a respected medical journal called “The Lancet”, showing a link
between infertility and exposure to the active ingredient in Pestico’s main brand of pesticide. Several townspeople have raised their concerns with a prominent local environmental justice advocacy group in town. The advocacy group found that the company has paid out over 100 settlements to
individuals over the last 25 years, but they all include non-disclosure agreements, which bar those receiving the settlements from discussing the details.
This is all very worrisome to you. You look at the company’s public records and they have passed all their inspections. In a town this small, however, it is
likely that some of the inspectors have sons employed by the factory. You are concerned that the health of the public may be at stake but the company has done so much to help the depressed economy in the town. People are less reliant on social services since the company came to town and the morale of
public health workers is up because they are now working in what feels like a healthier town. The company’s owners are angry about the bad publicity and feel that the town is ungrateful. They tell the mayor that if this does not go away they will relocate to a new town that appreciates jobs.
Incorporate a discussion of each of the following in your essay, covering each bullet with at least two paragraphs:
• How you would investigate the public’s concerns? What specialists, agencies and organizations would you bring in?
• Discuss any ethical concerns and conflicts of interest that may be present in this scenario
• Discuss your plan for managing the information that the public is receiving though the media (television, radio, print social)
• Discuss your strategy for communicating with the management of the company and the workers.
• Discuss how you would plan for the possibility of the company leaving town the effect of a return to high unemployment on the overall health of the
community (hint: consider hunger, lack of insurance, maternal and infant health, disability etc).
•Bibliography