September 11, 1969

Dr. Joseph T. English

Adninistrator

Mental Health Administration and Health Services
Department of Health, Education and Welfare
9000 Rockville Pike

Bethesda, Maryland 20014

Dear Joa:
Thank you for your letter of August 27 on water security precautions.

I hope we don't have to choose between armed guards at every installation

on the one hand end a complete indifference to security issues on the other.
As my picture of the San Francisco water supply “temple” illustrated, there
are today any number of sites that seem to be an open invitation for sabotage,
and at least these could be discreetly secured. Furthermore, as you did
promptly point out, there is very little mention of anticipating the steps
that should be thought about as reactions to a possible event.

I will also make myself objectionable by raising a couple of technical
questions: exactly what is the experimental documentation behind the asset-
tion that low chlorine levels will neutralize LSD? I know there must be a
firet order answer to this question, but I would.like to scrutinize it more
eritically.

A related point is that anyone with the savvy to get any reasonable amount
of LSD will also already have read that it is supposed to be neutralized by
chfarine and will have no difficulty in taking precautions to protect the
agent, namely adding a slug of sodium thicfulfate or something of the kind
along with it.

All this is focussing a lot of attention on just one agent, although possibly
one of the more likely ones to enter the psychotic mind. It should be thought
of, however, as illustrating the general problem.

These ideas are unfortunately entering the general consciousness of the coz
mmity, as I regret to have to report, for exupple, frow something I could
mot help seeing in the Stanford Daily, and which is enclosed herewith.

Sincerely yours,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics