State experts discarded failed trial-burn data that would undercut safety claims

Evidence

For example, one state document ignored the results of five out of ten experimental ”trial burns” of toxic chemicals, saying that in those discounted trials, the incoming chemicals had impurities, or that mistakes had occurred in the burning process. All the other trial burns came out nearly perfect, with few toxic residues from the burning process. The professor pointed out that in real life, chemicals are impure and mistakes are made, too, especially when a company is hurrying to make money by processing waste quickly. He requested that the state divulge those discarded results and include them as part of the experiment’s results. — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1440