This scientific integrity incident has had numerous real and potential adverse impacts on customers, products, and the organizational integrity of USGS, as these pertain to coal and water quality research and assessments. Nevertheless, quick and decisive action on our recommendation will help restore confidence in the Bureau.
They determined that the scientific misconduct and data manipulation at the lab also impacted USGS organizational integrity in ways that are still unfolding and challenging to quantify. We did identify the following ultimate impacts ...
1. unreliable scientific publications generated from research and assessment
projects that relied on the laboratory; projects often take five or more years
to complete and may result in multiple publications,
2. delayed completion of ERP research and assessment projects, including,
for example, coal assessments in the Appalachian Basin in the eastern U.S.,
3. permanent loss of unique rock and water samples collected in the field, because of access restrictions to some areas and the sometimes short-lived nature of substances, USGS researchers may be unable to obtain replacement samples (e.g., a scientist who acquired samples from Jackson Dome, Mississippi, said she cannot return to the area because of landowner access issues),
4. diminished public trust in Federally-led scientific endeavors,
5. lost time and effort of scientists who worked on the affected projects,
6. wasted time and expense associated with reprocessing salvaged samples, reassessing the results, and reissuing publications,
7. damaged personal reputation of scientists, and
8. possible weakened or lost collaborations with Federal and state agencies,
universities, and foreign nations.
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