DENVER -- The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has suspended a second chemist and stopped water testing at the state laboratory amid a state investigation into manipulated data.

State public health officials on Dec. 20 identified that a second chemist had manipulated quality control data, contributing to the lapses in method 200.7, which tests for certain metals in water, the agency said in a Monday news release. The laboratory director then placed the chemist on administrative leave.