KIE: A surprise ruling on 16 May 1984 by federal judge John J. Sirica halted a University of California experiment, already approved by the National Institutes of Health's Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, which would have involved the first deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified bacteria. Agreeing with social activist Jeremy Rifkin's charge that NIH had failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act when it approved the experiment, Sirica strongly suggested that he would also rule in Rifkin's favor on a suit to block all similar federally funded experiments until NIH has conducted an exhaustive evaluation of their potential environmental impact. Sirica's decision, however, left the NIH Recombinant Advisory Committee free to approve privately-funded experiments, which are not covered by the same environmental laws.