protection of the human environment. NRDC has 24,000 members and 
contributors in the United States. Many of these persons and 
their children will be subjected to the increased risk of adverse 
health effects discussed in pp. 9 - 12, infra , if the Secretary does 
not adopt effective regulations controlling the relevant proce- 
dures. Among the methods NRDC uses to achieve its objectives 
are: (1) improving federal agency decision-making which affects 
the environment by commenting, furnishing information, partici- 
pating in administrative proceedings, and bringing lawsuits 
where legal duties are not being fulfilled; and (2) improving 
federal agency decision-making which affects the environment 
by encouraging agencies to solicit and utilize the views, 
knowledge, and expertise of members of the general public. 
Ill . The Need to Control Recombinant DMA Pesearch 
and Technology in the Interest of Public Health 
The techniques defined above enable scientists to 
recombine the DNA from two unrelated species and, thus, construct 
organisms which may express genes from biologically unrelated 
sources. Because the properties of such deliberately or 
accidentally constructed organisms are unknown and may represent 
hitherto nonexistent hazards both to human health and the 
ecology, members of the scientific community have raised the 
questions of whether or not proceeding with this type of 
research at this time is prudent, and, if so, whether or not 
the public and the environment can be adequately protected 
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