Daily Caller – by Ethan Barton
Nearly two decades and $108 million worth of “disturbing” data manipulation with “serious and far ranging” effects forced a federal lab to close, a congressman revealed Thursday.
The inorganic section of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Energy Geochemistry Laboratory in Lakewood, Colo. manipulated data on a variety of topics – including many related to the environment – from 1996 to 2014. The manipulation was caught in 2008, but continued another six years.
“It’s astounding that we spend $108 million on manipulated research and then the far-reaching effects that that would have,” Rep. Bruce Westerman said at a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing. “We know how research multiples and affects different parts of our society and our economy and … if you’re working off of flawed data it definitely could be in a bad way.”
“The problems were so severe, in fact, that the USGS has already closed the inorganic lab in question permanently,” the Arkansas Republican said. The lab was terminated in January.
Westerman cited a recent Department of the Interior Inspector General (IG) report that said impacts from the data manipulation “are not yet known but, nevertheless, they will be serious and far ranging. The affected projects represented about $108 million in taxpayer funding from fiscal year 2008 through 2014.”
Westerman also highlighted an interview the IG withheld from its report.
“Tell me what you want and I will get it for you. What we do is like magic,” a former USGS official told auditors a former employee linked to the manipulation would say, according to Westerman.
Westerman added that the IG’s interview notes make the context of those quotes unclear.
“Given the lab’s history and that problems had already been identified when this interview was being conducted, such a statement seems potentially significant,” Westerman told Deputy IG Mary Kendall, a witness for the hearing.
“Your office explained that you do not know the context or veracity of this statement and that this issue was not part of the audit,” Westerman told Kendall.
Regardless, other scientists became aware and requested that lab work be taken elsewhere.
“USGS has advised committee staff that because scientists had already begun to distrust this lab so significantly that they began relying upon analysis from other labs,” Westerman said.
It’s unclear what effects the manipulated data will have, though Westerman – who touted his engineering background – noted the importance of research integrity.
“I’m not even sure what the scientific result were used in,” he said. “A lot of the work that people do that’s based on scientific research is so important and if the base research is flawed, then that affects the work that goes out from there.”
The research topics that faced data manipulation – including uranium in the environment, health effects of energy resources, and U.S. coal resources and reserves – was “disturbing,” Westerman said.
Some research papers that used the data had to be recalled, Kendall told the panel, but she was unsure of the extent other studies, such as college dissertations, were affected. She also noted that USG was taking steps to determine such effects.
I’ll presume, EPA doesn’t want mere mortals to stumble on their destruction of that gold mine / River awhile back.
I assume now the EPA has classified OP’s. They are a hostile witness also.
Abolish the EPA. They can not be trusted by America, as they work their United Nations climate fraud agenda, instead of for “We The People. ”
YES the US has some really bad “superfund sites”, like Bases that got shut down under BRAC, these problems don’t just go away.
Also several radiation site problems. Maybe it the Senators and House stopped giving billions to ISRAEL they could start cleaning some of this. Then again maybe SOME can not be cleaned up. Like out in Sacramento near AeroJet the water has hex-a-flourine (I am not a chemist I am spelling it wrong) and other stuff from testing Rocket Engines. (I vaguely remember this from the 70’s) Even if they cleaned up AeroJet, they can’t get that OUT of the water.
Then theres those bases, lot of it is simply from the AGE yards and Fuel Dumps. You really aren’t going to be able to CLEAN the water, the land maybe.. Dig it out replace the TOPSOIL…
In the end the EPA isn’t NEEDED. And their secrecy makes them less than worthless, next I will probably hear how the EPA have AR-15’s…
Maybe they Can SHOOT the damn polution.
personally, If I had the power, I would GUT the EPA today!
(all this rant my opinion — with some fun facts)
The rest was throne in the base cement, under runways, buildings, and the such. Look at old bases or areas were they kept a building or a small parcel!