Final answer:
The principle being violated when community leaders do not tell citizens about a harmful chemical spill is morality. This act breaches their moral responsibility to the community and may also entail environmental injustice.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the scenario where community leaders decide not to inform the citizens of a small village about a chemical spill with potentially harmful effects, the principle being violated is morality. Morality refers to the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. By withholding critical information that affects public health, community leaders are breaching the moral responsibility they have to protect their citizens.
This scenario is an infringement of ethical behavior, further undermining civic virtue, which is the notion that the good of the community should be placed above individual desires. In a broader sense, this situation may also be connected to the concept of environmental injustice, as it disproportionately exposes individuals to environmental hazards without recourse or knowledge to protect themselves.