1.6 The national committees, when appropriate, should elaborate guidelines for those 
activities. In particular: 
(a) projects involving organisms or cells derived by genetic modification technologies 
should be submitted to the consnittee. Where appropriate, licensing of institutions 
should be considered 
(b) its examination procedures should give consideration to the importance of 
confidentiality; 
(c) the committee should make sure that both laboratory personnel and facilities are 
adequate for the safe performance of the proposed work; 
(d) local biological safety officers should be nominated and trained to assist local 
safety committees so that compliance with the regulations by all workers involved is 
ensured; 
(e) responsibility for damage to people and property should be clearly attributable. 
( f) plans should be developed to cope with laboratory-associated accidents; 
(g) proper consideration should be given to relevant safety regulations in handling 
and shipment of Infective substances; 
(h) ethical considerations should be kept in mind, and appropriate liaison with 
ethical committees established. 
1.7 The national committees should also give prompt and thorough attention to the assessment 
of the risks and to their minimization, for example, through the characterization, development 
and use of biologically harmless or disabled host-vector systems that are made freely 
aval lable. 
1.8 Equal attention should be given to the exploitation of the potential benefits, with 
particular emphasis on the biomedical and agricultural needs of developing countries. 
1.9 The safety problems, like the potential benefits, are of international concern. 
Representatives of national committees and other Interested bodies should be convened 
periodically under the aegis of WHO to compare their problems and share their experience. 
Among the results of these meetings could be an international forum for discussing national 
guidelines and regulations, and the organization of training courses. 
Reconmendatlons concerning public health aspects of microbiological safety 
2.1 The draft brochure for public health services on the implications of work involving 
new genetic combinations should be modified as proposed and should be printed during 1977. 
2.2 Position documents should be prepared for the ACMR 1978 on the attempts to assess the 
risks, now still conjectural, of recombinant DNA research and on the measures taken by 
Member States to license or register laboratories or research projects not only involving 
genetic engineering but highly pathogenic organisms in general. 
2.3 The proposed Lorenzinl Foundation/WHO Symposium on Practical Application of Genetic 
Engineering should be organized in such a way that a continuing cooperation of industries 
towards a common code of practice could be expected as a major result. 
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