Editorial: Meddling with research

Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006 | 8:36 a.m.

U.S. Geological Survey scientists are concerned about a new Bush administration policy that calls for scientists to submit all reports and presentations to agency managers to determine whether they meet its approved scientific standards.

According to a Thursday story by The Washington Post, USGS scientists are concerned that their reports would be altered or censored from public view if their findings conflict with established Bush administration policies.

The agency's associate director told the Post that the reviews are designed to ensure "the scientific excellence of USGS products." But another provision of the new Bush rules - which requires scientists to notify the agency's press office regarding any reports with "potential high visibility" or containing "policy-sensitive issues" - indicates that the administration is concerned about the public getting hold of information that conflicts with Bush policy.

And USGS researchers have clashed with administration policy. In 2002, the Post reports, the agency released a study saying that oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska could harm caribou. The report was rereleased a week later saying that the caribou would not be harmed. This came at a time when Bush was pushing Congress for permission to drill in the Arctic refuge.

But the Bush administration never has been known for embracing objective, fact-based scientific conclusions - especially when they conflict with the president's policies. His administration has meddled with government scientists in many agencies, including those charged with approving drugs and studying global warming's effects.

Government geologists are among the scientists studying Nevada's Yucca Mountain as a proposed site for a high-level nuclear waste repository. Bush wants that dump to be built, and the project already has been riddled with shoddy scientific work and political tampering. An investigation last year showed USGS scientists had falsified data concerning how fast water could corrode the storage canisters. Adding rules that seemingly require scientific geological conclusions to pass the president's policy test only further erode our confidence in the government's science.