There is a need to identify and assess strategies for more effectively and safely managing wastes and toxic substances in the environment, in part through use of genetically engineered microorganisms. In society at large there is a sense of desperation that modem technologies have introduced a bewildering array of potential hazards to human health and to the environment. Many people are frustrated that basic research and technological ingenuity have yet to yield practical ways to control pollutants and waste streams-or, better still, to convert them to useful products. In August, 1983, a conference on Genetic Control of Environmental Pollutants was held at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was dedicated to the notion that biological scientists and engineers can join forces to make substantial progress with both traditional and newly emerging techniques in controlling environmental pollution and can do so safely. The conference brought together a rich mix of molecular geneticists, microbial ecologists, applied microbiologists, industrial engineers, environmental health specialists, economists, and managers from academia, industry, government, and environmental agencies. The format of lectures, discussions, poster sessions, and roundtables fostered communication among specialists in these quite separate fields. Some remarkable, manipulable, and useful properties of organisms in nature were presented. The current state of management of several classes of wastes was described. Consensus was sought and reached about the kinds of environmental problems for which early application of microbial organisms with special degradative capabilities might be most promising and most appropriate. Finally, the participants tried to anticipate some of the problems that might arise in going from laboratory schemes and smallscale experiments to field trials and industrial and environmental applications. The full Conference Proceedings were published by Plenum Press in April 1984, under the editorship of G. S. Omenn and Alexander Hollaender and an editorial committee consisting of A. M. Chakrabarty, Morris Levin, Eugene Nester, and Gordon Orians. The highlights of the conference and the volume may be summarized as follows: 1. Nature offers remarkable biodegradative capabilities in certain organisms. Modern genetics can be applied with some of these organisms, and the rates of