June 18, 19628

Mr. @.A. Derbyshire

Space Sclence Board

National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Avenue
Washington 25, 9.¢.

Dear George:
Reference, your letter of June 7.

1. & can see no drastic reasons to react strongly to the proposal that LY
fecal wastes be Jettisaned elther In terrestrial orbit or In luner landing
missions. Whatever risks ere Involved are already éncampassed In the YD
hezard of fiying the astronaut himself. There alght ,thowever, be sase SS
more enctional reaction to this that ought te be cautioned against and kept
In mind In detalling the disposal. 1¢ would be unfertunate If large amounts
of contaminated materia! were Indescriminately scattered over the lunar
surface, especially if this were done In such a wey at to make It Impossible
to Identify the polnt of deposition. Again, this Is a hazard thet may very
well attach to man himself, but there 1s no point in golng out of our way
to create difficulties. Such wastes should, therefore, be deposited anly
in hermetically sealed contatners together with substantial amounts of sone
long lived radioactive isetope thet could be used retrospectively as a tracer.

Such deposits should also be made only in the lamediate vicinity of sites
well established as luner bases, the vicinity of which will have to be regarded
@ potentially highly contaminated in any cease.

These considerations should be sufficiently self evident, particularly In
regard to the avoidence of less wal! Informed reactions thet | do not bel leve
there is much point fn organizing any specie) discussion unless the reactions
to your letter Indicate a wide divergence of eplaion. These remarks are not
Intended es an endorsement of a contamination policy at the present time, but
reflect the bellef that before manned lunar flights are actual ly attempted we
will have sufficient information about the lunar environment to better evaluate
the general hazards of luner contamination.

The bibl lography on derospace Medicine and hes very dublous value
by comparison with the other tation ectivities to which NASA Is now
committed. However, you will understand whet my reaction to this material

1s conditioned by my own special Interests which may not be quite congruent
with those of people more actively concerned with the fleld of space medicine.
Mr. @.A. derbyshire 2 dune 18, 1962

Rather than expend auch onersy on this particular Issue, { think the Board
could serve a much more useful function by watchdogging the whole Information
pregrem In NASA or at least being sure thet this does have the benefit of
critical review by scientists whe use it. (Qn the whole | think they ere

doing very well now, but this is gust by comperisen with the medieval programs
Ja the handling of information tn other agencies.)

Yours sincerely,

doshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics

JL: Jc