16 
the decisionmaking processes by which the revisions are made. It is 
expected that this spirit of public involvement will be continued by 
the Secretary following passage of the Recombinant DNA Act. 
Revisions in the safety standards are to be made according to the 
legislative standard that the safety requirements in effect after amend- 
ment will be sufficient to protect health or the environment. This 
standard, then, must always be considered by the Secretary in any 
revisions to be promulgated under this section. 
102(b) Exemptions 
If a particular recombinant DNA activity or class of such activities 
is found by the Secretary to present no significant risk to health or 
the environment, he may exempt it from the requirements of this 
section. An order of the Secretary is not inquired by the Administra- 
tive Procedure Act to be published in the Federal Register as a pro- 
posed rule, and, unlike regulations, may be put into effect in a rela- 
tively short time; Such an order is, however, subject to appeal on the 
grounds that the statutory standard upon which the order was based 
was not met or was incorrectly applied. 
The power to exempt activities would also be considered implicit 
in section 102(a)(2) allowing the Secretary to revise the require- 
ments by 'regulation. That is, if an activity is considered to pose no 
significant risk to health or the environment, then the requirements 
in effect after exempting such an activity should still be sufficient to 
protect health or the environment. 
It is the intent of Congress that section 102(b) be used to exempt 
activities only in cases where there is a clear consensus that a partic- 
ular recombinant DNA activity does indeed present no significant 
risk to health or the environment. The term “significant risk” should 
be interpreted conservatively in view of what is considered to be an 
acceptable or significant risk in other regulations and safety standards 
authorized under other statutes designed to protect public health or 
the environment. 
If the assessment of potential hazards presented by an activity 
remains unresolved, or controversial, even if it appears to be some- 
what less hazardous than previously believed, then subsection 102(a) 
(2) should be used for the purpose of revision rather than subsection 
102(b). The Secretary may, however, include whatever terms or con- 
ditions he considers appropriate with his order of exemption. There- 
fore, in instances where the safety of an activity appears to be well 
established, but where minor uncertainties remain, the Secretary 
could deal with such activities with a qualified order in whinh the 
remaining uncertainties were addressed. 
While it is recognized that it is often important for the Secretary to 
act quickly and be responsive to new data in a rapidly changing field, 
it is the committee’s intent that the public be informed of all intended 
action and allowed to express its views, to an extent feasible which 
would not delay needed changes in the safety standards. It is also the 
committee’s desire that while the regulations and safety standards in 
effect under this act be sufficient to protect health or the environment, 
any superfluous requirements should be removed as soon as possible 
after it becomes apparent that they are no longer necessary. Tlius, the 
Secretary should use considerable care and discretion in determining 
which activities would be proper candidates for the easing of the 
[Appendix B— 146] 
