March 20, 1970

Mr. William R. Polk

Director, Adlai Stevenson Instirete
of International Affairs

5757 Woodlawn Avenue

Chicago, Illinois 60637

Dear Mr. Polk:

Ken Hansen called me today and made it evident that I had worked myself
iato a stalemate through some misunderstanding ae to which of us was to
take the next initiative. I am sorry about that, but having now been
catalyzed by Ken, would like to share some further shoughts with you.

The expansion of the BAS to encompass a number of special issues on well-
considered important topica is one of the more important opportunities
which I can perceive in the area of common interest. I am not exactly
sure what my operational role in this might be, and I would be glad to
know what thoughts you might have on it. The least I can do is to suggest
a couple of topics, and I would continue to put near the top of the list
the iseue of nuclear energy development and its side effects, whibh has
become so contentious and so confusing in recent months. In fact, I had

a very interesting and illuminating time yesterday afternoon discussing
these questions with the commissioners themselves, and this made it even
more evident that the country was suffering from avoidable agonies through
lack of effective communication. I am sure this ia a subject on which
Rabinowitch also has a good deal to say, but before I go any further I
would simply like to know what the prospects sre of doing something in
this area.

In the same connection there is a general consensus that it would be very
desirable to facilitate factual communication on environmental hazarde
from nuclear activities, in a manner similar to the periodic bulletins of
the Public Health Service. Possibly the AEC will undertake to do this
itself, recognizing that the press is unable to communicate reliable quan-
titative data on various incédents. However, there might be even more
merit to trying to identify a good technical reporter who could ask more
pointed questions of the AEC for incorporation into a periodic evaluation
report. I think it would attract a good deal of constructive anédeuseful
attention to the bulletin if it were to undertake such a service. I also
believe that the commission is quite eager to defend itself against so-called
“expose” of information that it was quite ready to promulgate in the first
instance.

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Mr. William R. Polk March 20, 1970
Page 2

I have a number of other topics in mind for special issues. For example,

I would like to be able to ask Myron Tribus, Aesistant Secretary of Commerce
for Science and Technology, to organize a "sygposium” on the subject of
technological risk ~ to which he himself might be an outstanding contributor.
I have been thinking quite a lot about this matter myself along the lines of
the enclesed abstract "From Prometheus to Frankenstein", keeping in mind that
scientific investigation brings its advances into an imperfect world and we
ought to analyze more alosely the kinds of stresses that it actually induces
therein. I would, by the msy, be grateful for any suggestions you might have
younelf on ways of conceptualizing this kind of inquiry.

I continue to give a very high priority to global epidemics as a subject that
warrants social concern. However, as I am in some confusing negotiations with
the Nobel Foundation on this subject I would not want to push it right now for

the Bulletin. Since we talked, we have gone a long way on quastions of biological
warfare and the field is moving almost too rapidly for the Bulletin to contribute
better than as a reporting vehicle. We should nevertheless be getting much more
news on such subjects than is easily available right now. The News and Comments
section of Sclence magazine does make a useful contribution in this direction,
but,with some exceptions, its comments tend to be rather superficial.

I hope these remarks may then serve as a basis of continuing our dialogue.

Sincerely yours,

Joshua Lederberg
Prefeasor of Genetica