Appendix III 
REGULATION OF RECOMBINANT DNA 
RESEARCH IN LABORATORIES 
BACKGROUND 
On December 20, 1976 a meeting was held at NIH of attorneys 1/ 
from the Departments of Justice, Agriculture, HEW, Labor, and Trans- 
portation and the Environmental Protection Agency, for the purpose 
of assessing whether legislative authority currently exists for 
imposing at least the following regulatory requirements on all 
recombinant DNA laboratory research in the United States (whether or 
not Federally funded): 
1. Review and approval of such research before it is undertaken 
by a local biohazards committee. 
2. Compliance with the physical and biological containment 
standards and prohibitions In the NIH Guidelines. 
3. Registration of such research with a nat ional registry at the 
time the research Is undertaken (subject to appropriate safeguards to 
protect proprietary Interests). 
4. Enforcement of the above requirements through monitoring, 
inspection, and sanctions. 
It was generally conceded for purposes of the discussion that 
these requirements could be imposed by funding agencies on Federally 
conducted or supported research, and primary attention was therefore 
directed to whether authority now exists to mandate these requirements 
1/ A list of attendees is attached. 
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