Investigators: US lab worker in Colorado faked test results

Investigators say a worker at a federal laboratory in Colorado intentionally manipulated test results for years – possibly tainting research that includes toxic metals in the Everglades, uranium near the Grand Canyon and coal in Afghanistan.

The Interior Department’s inspector general released a report recently saying falsified data from a U.S. Geological Survey lab may have affected 24 research projects on coal, water and other topics.

The projects cost a total of $108 million.

USGS spokeswoman Anne-Berry Wade said Thursday the agency isn’t sure why the employee falsified the chemical analysis results but said it wasn’t for personal gain.

Wade says USGS took action against the employee but declined to say what it was, citing privacy rules. She also declined to say whether the employee was still working for USGS.