had legislation developed, and an Administration bill was introduced 
in Congress. Congressional hearings were held and separate bills are 
now being considered by the House of Representatives and the Senate to 
convert the Guidelines to standards for regulatory purposes. It should 
be noted that certain types of experiment covered in the Guidelines 
would no longer be subject to regulation in the bills. 
The NIH Guidelines set strict conditions for the conduct of NIH- 
supported research in this area. They prohibit certain types of 
experiments and require special safety conditions for other types. 
The provisions are designed to afford protection with a wide margin 
of safety to workers, the public, and the environment. 
The text of this Final Environmental Impact Statement discusses the 
Impact of Issuance of NIH Guidelines, under the following sections: 
(3 ) Impact on the Safety of Laboratory Personnel and on the Spread of 
Possibly Hazardous Agents by Infected Laboratory Personnel, (2) Impact 
on the Environmental Spread of Possibly Hazardous Agents, (3) Cost 
Impact, and (4) Secondary Impacts. Also discussed is the Impact of 
Experiments Conducted Under the Guidelines, including: (1) Possible 
Undesirable Impacts and (2) Beneficial Impacts of Recombinant DNA 
Research. 
The Final EIS has been substantially modified in both text and 
appendices to take into account the comments received on the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement. In addition to the modifications of 
the EIS in response to comments, modifications have also been based 
on new knowledge and developments since the Draft EIS was prepared 
in the summer of 1976. 
Many of the issues raised by the commentators on the Draft EIS 
were previously considered in developing the NIH Guidelines for 
Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules. In drafting an impact 
statement, however, the NIH has given further consideration to these 
issues and has provided an opportunity for the public to comment from 
an environmental perspective. This perspective has been very helpful 
in NIH's review of policies and procedures on recombinant DNA 
research. 
