Attachment IV - Page 5 
PART I 
The following represents comments and consensus recommendations 
of the Working Group: 
1* It is urged that the NIH-RAC Guidelines continue in 
effect for all DNA-related technology insofar as laboratory 
research is concerned. The regulatory agencies, in reviewing an 
.A p plies t i n n - r-conlri e s tablish as a part nf t h eir rev iew 
* P r °y* s * on t ^ le Guidelines be observed . This approach 
has the benefit of retaining continuity of standard s. It would also 
give assurance to scientific investigators as to the standards which 
they would be required to follow for the forseeable future. 
The NIH-RAC Guidelines have been the recognized standard 
for the past 10 years. These Guidelines serve as a standard for 
most nations, as well as state and local governments. State and 
local agencies have adopted the Guidelines as their local ordinances. 
If each agency is permitted to establish its o wn 
guidelines, this will cause confusion and uncertainty among such 
governmental bodies, scientific investigators and industry. 
2. Any new mechanism must establish substantial public 
I nvolveme nt and such mechanism should include the following factors: 
A. That public members serve on advisory committees and 
have a meaningful opportunity for input into policy determi- 
nations of such advisory committees. The public members 
should also serve on working groups, or technical advisory 
committees, where meaningful decisions are made. 
B. Public members must be a part of any oversight 
review committee in which decisions on public policy, 
risk-management and discussion of generic issues are made. 
C. The public and press must have an involvement at 
any forum at which these meaningful decisions are made. 
This means prior public notice of such meetings and the 
opportunity to make presentations, either in written or 
oral form. 
Any mechanism which does not include the above provisions 
will not effectively result in meaningful public input, and such 
mechanism could be subject to severe criticism and perhaps under- 
mine public confidence. 
Although the scientific members on RAC have always had 
more numerous representation than public members, public members 
have always had an opportunity to participate in a meaningful 
manner. This involvement includes direct influence on the 
[415] 
