- 2 - 
4. I see several serious hazards associated with 
the protocol. First, while handling of the recombinant 
organisms containing polyoma genes is planned to take 
place under P-4 (highest containment) conditions such 
facilities are not foolproof: Fort Detrick has had at 
least one reported mishap under P-4-like conditions in 
the past. In the case known to me an infectious agent 
escaped containment as a result of a syringe puncturing 
a worker's hand through a glove-box glove. Thus, though 
the chances are minimized, escape from physical contain- 
ment is possible. The probability increases drastically 
under the P-2 conditions in which the investigators want 
to perform their immunologic assays. The switch to 
minimal containment will depend on demonstrating that 
heat-treated serum is free of E- coli or bacteriophage 
lambda. Such a determination is subject to human error 
and technical failure. 
5. Were a recombinant organism to escape physical 
containment its likelihood of survival will depend on a 
variety of factors. The E- coli strain to be used (K-12) 
is not an inhabitant of the normal human intestine, but 
does survive in germ-free intestines of laboratory animals. 
More to the point, strains of E- coli can infect the blood 
and colonize the pharyax. The degree to which K-12 can 
do this has not been studied. Considering the more likely 
of the possible routes of escape under P-4, P-3, and P-2 
conditions, this is a grave omission. 
6. Once released into the environment recombinant 
organisms are self-reproducing and cannot be recalled. 
Even the most debilitated E- coli developed to date can 
survive for up to eight days in tap water. On lysing, 
[Appendix C — 136] 
