MINUTES OF MEETING - March 6-7 
31 
Dr. Williams favored the RAC continuing to play an advisory role in 
developing large-scale Guidelines, but felt uncomfortable in assessing 
individual proposals from industry. 
Dr. Walters said he believed a need exists for interim standards in an 
area where no standards currently exist. Dr. Baltimore said he believed 
the RAC has the responsibility of overseeing the development of recombi- 
nant DNA technology. He said the RAC fulfills this function by providing 
an overview of safety questions. He stressed the time required by OSHA 
and NIOSH to develop and implement regulations. He congratulated the 
large-scale working group on proposing an approach relevant to the indus- 
trial situation. 
Dr. Mason said the taxpayers supporting research expect to obtain some 
applied benefit from this research. He said the application of recombi- 
nant technology to benefit people should not be impeded by a lack of 
guidelines. He said he agreed that the composition of the RAC is not 
optimal to evaluate industrial scale-up, but felt that application of 
the technology should not be delayed because no group is prepared to 
provide guidelines or regulations. Mr. Thornton said the RAC either 
possesses, or should be able to obtain, competent advice in industrial 
application of recombinant technology. Dr. Parkinson said that OSHA 
possesses the competence and the mandate to deal with this area. 
Dr. Gottesman suggested that the RAC continue to review submissions for 
the characterization of clones and to evaluate potential hazards. She 
said that other procedures could be established for reviewing other 
aspects of industrial submissions. 
Dr. Setlow called on Dr. Christine Oliver of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic 
Workers International Union to address the RAC. Dr. Oliver said she 
would reiterate some of the concerns she had expressed in a letter to 
Dr. Setlow. She said she believed the responsibility for regulating the 
industrial application of recombinant DNA technology lies with OSHA and 
NIOSH. The implementation of guidelines for large-scale recombinant DNA 
technology require a more adequate understanding of the workplace. It 
is very difficult to visit a plant and obtain any idea of working condi- 
tions without an in-depth discussion with the workers themselves. In 
labor's experience, containment is difficult to attain. As production 
is scaled up equipment breakdown beccmes more frequent. As overtime 
increases, the number of accidents increase and the subsequent exposure 
of workers increases. She offered the expertise of her union to the RAC 
and to OSHA and NIOSH. 
Dr. Johnson of Eli Lilly and Company then briefly addressed the RAC. He 
said that while the RAC may not necessarily have the responsibility of 
regulating the private sector, the Committee does have the responsibility 
of overseeing recombinant ENA research regardless of how it is supported. 
He said he hoped that the RAC will continue an interim approach to indus- 
trial projects as jurisdictional authority is sorted out. He commended 
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