KIE: A University of California field test of genetically altered bacteria has been halted by federal district court Judge John Sirica. His order is the result of a suit filed by Jeremy Rifkin challenging approval of the experiment by the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) of the National Institutes of Health. RAC has also been enjoined from considering similar NIH-funded trials while the case is pending. Rifkin claims that NIH failed to file environmental impact statements on the research. Sirica's preliminary ruling suggests that the final decision will be in Rifkin's favor, but the judge emphasized that he is weighing only the legal issues involved, not the scientific ones.