The contents in this series describe the Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition's (SVTC) dispute with Stanford University over issues related to the university's research agenda and its handling of hazardous materials, most notably a waste incinerator located in the University Medical Center. In August of 1987, SVTC appealed the permit given by the Santa Clara County Planning Commission to a new biomedical research facility on the Stanford campus, located on Serra Street off West Campus Drive. Among SVTC's motivations, the group listed Stanford's past negligence with hazardous materials, the implications for community health of new biomedical practices like genetic engineering, and the lack of a medical monitoring program for researchers and other building staff. Stanford President Donald Kennedy publicly denounced these concerns, yet agreed to delay the construction project until a full environmental review was completed. In December of 1987, an additional source of controversy opened up when a senior engineer in Stanford's Department of Health and Safety resigned, alleging longstanding health issues created by the treatment of hazardous waste at the University Medical Center. Facing negative publicity from SVTC and other community groups, combined with these internal allegations from its DOHS, Stanford conceded to a University-wide special health and safety review, which they eventually completed in the fall of 1988. The review led Stanford to create two new administrative positions: Director of Environmental Health and Safety and a Laboratory Safety Officer.

Over the three years in which Stanford and SVTC disputed these issues, Ted Smith collected detailed notes on the emerging biotechnologies like genetic engineering and their potential consequence for public health and the environment. Researching this subject and making it a part of SVTC activism brought Smith into contact with a variety of groups around the country voicing similar concerns. In January of 1989, SVTC was one of several Bay Area organizations sponsoring a two-day conference on "Creating a Public Interest in Biotechnology in California," at which the renowned environmentalist and critic of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin appeared as the keynote speaker. In the early 1990s, Smith served on the steering committee of the California Biotechnology Action Council (CALBAC), based in Sacramento. Along with a record of Smith's participation in the Action Council, this series includes many newspaper clippings describing tensions between Stanford officials, Palo Alto community associations, and environmentalist groups headquartered within the Bay Area.