1993/03/01 by Claire B. Ernhart, Sandra Scarr, David F. Geneson · 1 voice · 1 citation
Environmental Science · #Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
paper · doi:10.1207/s15327019eb0301_2
openalex publication_date 1993/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
We believe that members of the scientific community have a primary obligation to promote integrity in research and that this obligation includes a duty to report observations that suggest misconduct to agencies that are empowered to examine and evaluate such evidence. Consonant with this responsibility, we became whistleblowers in the case of Herbert Needleman. His 1979 study (Needleman et al., 1979), on the effects of low-level lead exposure on children, is widely cited and highly influential in the formulation of public policy on lead. The opportunity we had to examine subject selection and data analyses from this study was prematurely halted by efforts to prevent disclosure of our observations. Nevertheless, what we saw left us with serious concerns. We hope that the events here summarized will contribute to revisions of process by which allegations of scientific misconduct are handled and that such revisions will result in less damage to scientists who speak out.