APPENDIX J 
authorities currently exists that would clearly reach all research 
and other uses of recombinant DNA techniques and meet all the requirements. 
The complete Subcommittee analysis is included in Appendix III. The 
Subcommittee, in reaching this conclusion, reviewed the following laws 
that were deemed most deserving of detailed consideration: 
(1) the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Public Law 
91-596) , 
(2) the Toxic Substances Control Act (Public Law 94-469), 
(3) the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (Public Law 93-633), 
(4) Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 264). 
The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives the Occupational Safety 
and Health Administration (OSHA) broad powers to require employers to 
provide a safe workplace for their employees. The term "employer" in the 
Act, however, is defined in such a way as to exclude States and their 
political subdivisions unless the OSHA standards are voluntarily adopted. 
Twenty-four States have adopted the standards, but twenty-six states are not 
subject to them. Further, the OSHA standards do not cover self-employed 
persons. For these reasons it was determined that OSHA at present could 
not regulate all recombinant DNA research. 
The Environmental Protection Agency, under the Toxic Substances 
Control Act, is directed to control chemicals that may present an 
"unreasonable risk of injury to the health or the environment." The Sub- 
committee determined that the materials used in recombinant DNA research 
Appendix J — 8 
