EPA Expected Today to Again OK Altered Bacteria Test in State

In a continuing battle over the first spraying of genetically engineered bacteria into the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency today is expected to approve for the second time a controversial experiment by an Oakland company.

The test by Advanced Genetic Sciences Inc. would be conducted at a California site either in San Benito or Contra Costa counties, “away from everything,” according to a government official.

In the experiment, AGS would spray strawberry plants with two strains of living bacteria that have been genetically engineered to block frost formation down to 23 degrees Fahrenheit.

‘Road to Commercialization’

Alan Goldhammer, spokesman for the Industrial Biotechnology Assn., a Washington-based trade association, said: “We’re pleased to see that the experiment is going ahead.” He added that the action could put a frost-blocking product “on the road to commercialization.”

Some industry officials have estimated that the experiments could foster a $900-million yearly market. However, the test, which initially was approved by EPA on Nov. 14, 1985, then blocked by critics, still must run a gantlet of opposition.

Since the first federal approval, the experiment has hit snag after snag, ranging from federal lawsuits to fierce local protests and even hostile letters from the Green Party in the West German Parliament. Officials in Monterey County, where the experiment once had been planned, banned it, forcing the company to look elsewhere.

Now, critics assert that AGS still has not allayed their fears that spraying the bacteria into the air could harm other plants.