Generally, in the engineering world, safety concerns can get overlooked if they impact tight deadlines and/or budgets. Usually it doesn't come up, but you can find cases where it has in the past and been a huge problem.
In the case of the challenger shuttle, engineering raised safety concerns about the O-Rings prior to launch, especially since it was a particularly cold day, saying that they were not confident that they would hold up during the launch and that it should be postponed for safety reasons. The launch went through, and the rocket exploded in the atmosphere killing all astronauts on board.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disasterThis isn't "public safety", but it is an overlook of safety. May help you find a case that deals with your assignment.