2 
Dr D Frederickson 
13 January 1978 
Returning to the question of activity in this field in Europe and elsewhere, 
it is certainly very desirable that the practices in different countries should 
be harmonized. The United States has provided leadership in this field, and 
therefore I think it particularly important that there should be close liaison 
between the responsible groups in the United States and elsewhere. The joint 
NIH/EMBO Workshop on "Parameters of Physical Containment", held in London in 
March 1977, was an important step in this direction, and I very much welcome 
the decision taken during your hearings last month, that there should be a 
similar joint study of virus classification. 
At the world level the International Council of Scientific Unions has now 
established its Committee on Genetic Experimentation, and I am particularly 
happy to note the very active part being played by American scientists in the 
work of this Committee. 
Finally some miscellaneous points that occurred to me during the hearings, not 
all of them immediately relevant to the drafting of the guidelines: 
1. The carrying out of risk-testing experiments should be 
encouraged, and in cases when special exemptions from the 
guidelines need endorsement this should be granted wherever 
possible. It is most unfortunate that an important risk- 
testing experiment planned in the USA was held up for admini- 
strative reasons. 
2. The study of alternative host-vector systems should be 
encouraged. These will be increasingly needed, both in pure 
research and in industry, and the sooner they are certificated, 
the better. 
3. High priority should be given to the organization of 
training courses in safety measures; and a system of validation 
of such courses should be developed. 
4. Consideration should be given to setting up a system of 
certification of equipment used in high-security laboratories, 
and standardized test procedures should be developed. 
5. More thought should be given to the role of positive 
pressure suits in work at high containment levels, possibly 
not only in a subsidiary role in a "specially designed suit 
area", but perhaps as a major element in the design of P4 facilities. 
All good wishes for the completion of your study of the guidelines, and best 
personal regards. 
Yours sincerely 
[Appendix A — 213] 
