II Comments j4dressed to Specific Sections of DEIS and Guidelines 
A. DISCUSSION OF BIOLIGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH 
The "Description of the Recombinant DMA Process" 
pp 7-11 is overly simplistic in explaining the experiments 
to be performed. No explauiation is made of shotgun experiments 
versus purified gene transplant experiments and the hazards 
involved in each. No cautionary statements are made describing 
the uncertainties and risks of combining unknown DNA segments 
or even identified purified genes with cinother organism. 
Tramsfer of genes harmful amd non-harmful to the vector 
organism can be toxic to the host organism. No mention is 
made of the well known fact that most organisms contain a 
variety of unexpressed viruses. Nor is it explained that there 
are many viruses that are not pathogenic for their natural 
host but which produce serious disease when introduced into 
cinother host. For exeimple, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever virus 
is harmless to rodents but produces serious illness in mein, 
amd diptheria is a disease caused by a virus and a bacterium 
both of which are nonpathogenic individually, but when 
combined are extremely pathogenic. Recombination between 
known amd unknown quantities have many risks yet the DEIS 
leaves the lay reader in total ignoramce of the biological 
possibilities of these damgers . 
The EIS is deficient in its discussion of the ecological 
amd biological implications of recombinant research. Without full 
disclosure of these implications, the reader remains 
- 7 - 
I 
i 
Appendix K — 87 
