Attachment I, i^ge 4 
INTRODUCTION 
Recombinant DNA techniques have developed in the past five years from basic 
biological discoveries to technologies at the brink of industrial 
1 2 
application. * In the next decade, rONA technologies are expected to be 
employed in the production of enzymes, hormones, pharmaceuticals, vaccine and 
diagnostic antigens, improved plant strains, and a wide variety of chemical 
3 
feedstocks. 
As these commercial applications are pursued, the number of persons engaged in 
work with rONA technologies will increase exponentially. These persons will 
include not only professional staff, but also production workers, line 
4 
supervisors, maintenance personnel, and janitors. These workers will 
encounter several categories of potential exposures: (1) exposures to 
microorganisms containing rONA; (2) exposures to the biological and chemical 
products of such organisms; and (3) exposures to chemical reagents used in 
extraction and purification of microbial products. Experience in other 
sectors of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries indicates that the 
products of the recombined microorganisms will pose the most serious of these 
potential hazards and that the hazard of occupational exposure to those 
biologically active products will extend throughout virtually every phase of 
production and packaging. 
The Centers for Disease Control /National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (CDC/NIOSH) Ad Hoc Working Group on Medical Surveillance for Industrial 
Applications of Recombinant DNA has considered the role that medical 
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