( CNN ) -- A chemist accused of failing to follow protocols at a Massachusetts crime lab had been involved in testing some 50,000 drug samples , potentially opening the door to a swath of legal challenges , officials said Wednesday . The list of samples was turned over to prosecutors and public defenders on Tuesday . The samples were tested during Annie Dookhan 's nine-year term at the facility , state authorities said . The samples were from an estimated 34,000 cases Dookhan worked on during her career , authorities said . `` Fifty-thousand drug samples in question could mean numerous wrongful convictions , vacated sentences , dismissed cases , overturned convictions and so on , '' said Anne Goldbach , forensic services director Committee for Public Counsel Services . `` Whether or not all those samples were affected , we do n't know . '' Goldbach said investigators first learned of a breach in protocol in February over a June 2011 incident in which samples were incorrectly catalogued . `` This is going to be a huge amount of work for both defense and prosecution attorneys and a huge drain in resources in attempting to figure out the extent of the situation , '' Goldbach said . The Boston lab certified drug samples for Massachusetts law enforcement before Gov . Deval Patrick ordered it closed August 30 in the wake of an investigation into the scandal . `` This is deeply troubling information , '' Patrick said in statement last week . `` No breach this serious can or will be tolerated . The State Police will continue their investigation to determine what happened and who is responsible so that we can hold those accountable . '' The state 's Department of Public Health said it had `` placed an additional lab supervisor on leave pending the outcome of our investigation . '' `` Our job now is to continue to work with the Attorney General 's Office to get to the bottom of what went wrong , assign accountability where it is warranted and prevent this type of breach from happening again . '' Dookhan could not be immediately reached comment .
List of suspects is turned over to prosecutors and public defenders on Monday . Goldbach police investigators first learned of a breach in protocol in February . The breach possibly opens the door to a series of new legal challenges , officials say .