Word: epa
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Strobel's unauthorized action, which earned him a slap on the wrist from the EPA and Montana State, as well as the disapproval of most U.S. scientists, was not in itself dangerous -- federal officials and researchers alike agree on that. But by sidestepping the arduous regulatory process, Strobel fanned the fears of those who think genetically altered bugs might behave unpredictably in the wild, setting off an ecological catastrophe or disrupting local ecosystems. Most scientists consider the public's fears exaggerated, but they nonetheless acknowledge the need for caution. Says David Drahos, a senior research group leader at Monsanto...
Indeed, the experiment represents an attempt by Monsanto to accommodate regulatory guidelines that many scientists think are too strict. It is also aimed at mollifying public fears. Monsanto had originally planned to test a strain of Pseudomonas altered to produce a natural insecticide. The EPA nixed the field test, mainly because its formal evaluation was incomplete. Still, worried residents living near the Missouri test site protested loudly...
...EPA agreed to the new test, primarily because of the innovative mechanisms for tracking the bacteria. In addition to turning blue, the bugs have been engineered to resist the antibiotic rifampicin -- a combination of properties that makes it possible to detect the presence of a single Pseudomonas among the billion or so microorganisms that may exist in a thimbleful of soil. Explains Margaret Mellon, manager of the National Wildlife Federation's biotechnology project: "This system is an important advance. In and of itself, it doesn't answer questions about whether bioengineered organisms are in general more or less safe than...
Indeed, the ability to track recombinant bacteria through the environment has become a crucial factor in getting EPA approval for a release. The lack of an effective marker has, for example, held up a test by Biotechnica International, a Cambridge, Mass., firm, of Rhizobium bacteria altered to boost their ability to fix nitrogen in the soil. In one of the California ice- minus tests, however, scientists have been able to monitor the spread of anti- icing bacteria on potato plants. The marker system in this case was rifampicin resistance, less sensitive than Monsanto's multiple indicator but still able...
Strobel admits that his frustration with the maze of federal rules and the often lengthy EPA approval process led him to start the elm test last June. Geneticist Duane Jeffery of Brigham Young University likens Strobel's actions to Oliver North's, contending that the scientist knew the rules and pulled the idealistic stunt "in the name of service to humanity." Strobel is a recognized expert on plant pathogens who once wrote that his career choice "was brought on by a desire as a teenager to understand why the chestnut trees had died in my home state of Ohio...