recombinant DNA technology. Clearly a tremendous amount of 
thought and work has gone into its preparation. No documentation 
approaching this magnitude has previously been required for 
introduction to the environment of any microorganism, considered 
to be safe, that contains a man-made genetic alteration. 
"Many individuals with diverse experience in areas relevant 
to the proposed project have evaluated potential environmental 
consequences of this experiment and have concluded that the chance 
of damage is sufficiently low that the experiment should no longer 
be delayed. The Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact clearly indicates to the public that there is no 
cause for concern. The consultants identified at the end of the 
assessment include scientists who are well -versed with the issues and 
who have nothing personal to gain from the outcome of the 
experiments. These scientists are internationally recognized for 
their scientific judgments. 
"Thousands of different mutant microorganisms have been released to 
the environment over a period of half a century. It is important 
to realize that there is no confirmed case of environmental damage 
caused by release of a safe microorganism that has been genetically 
modified in the laboratory. The Environmental Assessment strongly 
supports the conclusion that this experiment will not affect the 
environment in any substantively different way than the thousands 
of 'experiments' involving mutants of safe microorganisms that have 
already proceeded without problems." 
III-A-l-d. Association of American Medical Colleges 
A May 7 letter from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 
was signed by John F. Sherman, Ph.D., Vice President, AAMC. The letter 
states: 
"The Environmental Assessment prepared by the NIH in relation to the 
proposed Lindow/Panopoulos experiment is detailed and thorough. The 
National Institutes of Health and the NIH RAC are to be 
congratulated for establishing the procedures necessary to ensure 
proper review of proposed applications to conduct research which 
involve field testing or deliberate release into the environment 
of genetically engineered organisms. The establishment of the 
Working Group on Environmental Release of the Recombinant DNA Advisory 
Committee and the decision to prepare an Environmental Assessment 
statement on each such proposed experiment for deliberate release 
are both laudable parts of this process." 
III-A-l-e. Zoecon Corporation 
A May 8 letter from Zoecon Corporation was signed by Joseph P. Brown, 
Ph.D., Director, Toxicology & Regulatory Affairs, Zoecon Corporation. 
The letter states: 
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