8 
and assure and certify that the Guidelines are being followed. 
The IBC can issue approval for most types of experiments without 
prior approval of NIH and even has some limited authority to 
lower containment levels under specific conditions. According 
to the NIH Guidelines, IBCs must consist of no less than five 
members. At least two members are. to be persons not affiliated 
with the institution.. Moreover, they should represent the 
interests of the surrounding community with respect to health and 
environmental- protection. 
During its September 1981 meeting, the RAC proposed 
revisions, based on the report of the Working Group on Revision 
of the Guidelines, to the existing NIH Guidelines. The major 
and most controversial- feature proposed by the RAC was that the 
Guidelines would cease to be mandatory and become a voluntary 
code of standard practices. This proposal triggered moderate 
scientific and public debate as well as a fair level of media 
coverage. A separate minority proposal was submitted by Dr. 
Susan Gottesman of the National Cancer Institute of the NIH, and 
head of the Working Group on Revision of the Guidelines. This 
separate proposal outlined relaxation of the Guidelines, which 
would continue to be mandatory for institutions receiving 
federal funding. After reviewing the two proposals and 
evaluating public and scientific comment, the RAC endorsed the 
Gottesman proposal with minor revisions. 
The NIH Guidelines have been amended recently to add 
Appendix K which sets forth procedures for the control of large 
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