Event

Misconduct charges against Herbert Needleman, early 1990s

Two psychologists reported Needleman’s 1979 study to federal officials; a university inquiry and a federal review followed.

5 links, 1 backed by primary records

Connections 5

Herbert Needleman federal Office of Research Integrity review, as the Globe reports it Scholarship & press 1
University of Pittsburgh its inquiry, as NPR reports it Scholarship & press 2
C. B. Ernhart one of the two who reported him Scholarship & press 3
Sandra Scarr one of the two who reported him Scholarship & press 3
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked for a reanalysis in 1983; the results “confirmed the association” Primary record 4

Timeline 1 date

Proof 4 sources

Herbert Needleman, pediatrician who exposed dangers of lead poisoning (obituary), The Boston Globe, 29 Jul 2017. Scholarship & press
The probe cleared him of accusations of scientific misconduct but cited errors such as a failure to obtain a representative population for his experiment.
Lead Poisoning: A Doctor's Lifelong Crusade To Save Children From It, NPR (Keystone Crossroads), 5 Jun 2016. Scholarship & press
It did say he mischaracterized some procedures in his study, but not in a way that changed the findings.
On being a whistleblower: the Needleman case (Ethics Behav 3:73-93), Ethics & Behavior (abstract, PubMed), 1993. Scholarship & press
we became whistleblowers in the case of Herbert Needleman.
what we saw left us with serious concerns.
Costs and Benefits of Reducing Lead in Gasoline: Final Regulatory Impact Analysis (EPA-230-05-85-006), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Policy Analysis, Feb 1985. Primary record
In 1983 an EPA peer-review panel asked for a reanalysis of Needleman et al.'s data, using different model specifications.

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