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to the public. I personally have a lot of faith in this approach, at least 
at this time, because as he points out in this letter, recombinant DNA tech- 
nology is immature, it is evolving, and there are dangers in transferring 
it to an industrial setting too early in the game. So I would like the 
Committee to read this letter and perhaps comment on it. 
DR. FREDRICKSON: Mr. Hutt. 
MR. HUTT: Ms. Pfund, do you have any information on what the relative 
breakdown is between the biohazards committees that have open meetings and 
those that do not at the present moment? 
MS. PFUND: I have no statistical evidence. I just know that in the 
Bay Area where I live, I think the UCSF had some open meetings, the Stanford 
biohazards committee has every fourth meeting open to the public. There are 
efforts to adjust it to local conditions. And then there are those that 
keep them completely closed. 
MR. HUTT: Has anyone given you a rationale for having them closed? 
MS. PFUND: Yes, because I was one of the people who asked for open 
meetings. When we didn't have them, what they said is that sometimes grants 
are — well, they are reviewing proposals for research that hasn't been approved 
yet, which is classified information or shouldn't be given to the public. So 
that was their rationale. I think that is why they don't have every meeting 
open to the public, to protect that information, but I think you could work 
around that fairly easily. 
DR. FREDRICKSON: Dr. Ahmed. 
DR. AHMED: In the biohazards committees that you are familiar with, how 
do they give notice to the public about open meetings? A newspaper notice? 
MS. PFUND: I think that is something that needs to be beefed up a 
little, because it is put in the campus newspaper, sometimes put in the 
local newspaper, but it is not very organized, and a lot of people still 
aren't aware that this is the policy of the university's biohazards 
committee. 
DR. AHMED: I would like to follow up by asking someone who sits on an 
active biohazards committee what is your agenda generally speaking, and 
how often do you meet, and how do you communicate with the rest of the 
academic community? 
MS. MENARD: I would be happy to answer that question. 
DR. FREDRICKSON: Ms. Menard. 
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