- 2 - 
41 Fed. Reg. 38426 (1976) . The final EIS was prepared and 
notice of its availability published in the Federal Register 
on November 28, 1977. 42 Fed. Reg. 6588 (1977). 
5. The NIH guidelines govern all facets of NIH- 
funded research using recombinant DNA techniques. The 
guidelines provide detailed requirements for both physical 
and biological containment designed to insure that recombinant 
DNA molecules will pose no threat to man or the environment. 
The experiment is to be conducted in accordance with these 
guidelines . 
6. The laboratory at Fort Detrick is a P4 labor- 
atory with extensive safeguards built into its design. The 
experiment is to be conducted under P4 physical containment 
requirements — the highest level of physical containment. 
P4 facilities are governed by rules limiting access, providing 
for change of clothes before entering and leaving, and 
numerous other safety features. All recombinant DNA 
materials are handled in gastype safety cabinets and removed 
only after sterilization. 
7. The experiment is to be conducted using EK2 
host-vector systems. In the planned experiment, a derivative 
of E coli K-12 which has been specifically designed to self- 
destruct if removed from the contolled laboratory environment 
will be used. E coli K-12 itself is safe and has been used 
for years without known harm to the laboratory workers or 
to the environment. 
8. E coli K-12 is unable to colonize in the human 
intestinal tract and causes no known human or animal disease. 
The EK2 system uses a K-12 derivative that must have special 
chemicals found only in an artificial laboratory setting in 
order to survive and is safer than ordinary K-12. If these 
[Appendix C — 4] 
