Another case of scientific fraud, this time involving costly pollution controls?

My post title is a bit of an exaggeration.  It’s not clear that the science is fraudulent.  It’s just clear that the scientist is fraudulent:

A sweeping California regulation aimed at cutting hazardous pollution from diesel engine exhaust could be derailed after a key state researcher on the project was caught in a lie about his academic credentials.

The California Air Resources Board is scheduled to meet today to discuss whether to delay the implementation of the regulation because of the weak economy, which some experts claim has led to a drop in diesel emissions. But that discussion has been overshadowed by revelations about the researcher’s trumped-up resume.

Two of the 11 air board members have asked that the anti-pollution rules be suspended because they were partially based on a report by Hien Tran that found particulates in diesel emissions account for 3,500 premature deaths a year in California. Tran falsely claimed he had a doctorate in statistics from UC Davis.

“I’ve been on the air board 14 years and I’ve never seen anything approaching this,” said Ron Roberts, who also is a San Diego County supervisor. He added that the air board should do everything it can to assure the public “the science is proper to arrive at legitimate decisions.”

[snip]

Tran, whose estimate of 3,500 deaths was higher than previous estimates, does have a doctorate in statistics, but he obtained it from Thornhill University, a distance learning school. He has a master’s degree in the subject from UC Davis.

Tran, who has worked at the air board for 11 years, was demoted and his salary was cut by $1,066 per month to $7,899 per month. He was not fired.

Read the rest here.

The regulation at issue is no small thing, since it is estimated that it will cost the trucking industry $5.5 billion dollars.  That’s a big chunk of money, all of which you know will show up as significantly higher prices in stores.  That’s always painful, but especially so during rescessions.