RESPONSES BY DR. FREDRICKSON TO QUESTIONS POSED BY EDWARD M. KENNEDY, 
CHAIRMAN, SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 
1. Is recombinant DNA research currently going on in nations where 
guidelines for this research are not in effect? 
A. As we can best determine, all nations where recombinant DNA research 
is being conducted have adopted or intend to adopt some form of safety 
practices and procedures. As of the summer of 1977, there were an 
estimated 150 recombinant DNA projects under way in Europe, 300 in the 
United States, and perhaps 20-25 altogether in Canada, Australia, Japan, 
and the Soviet Union. An extensive survey of these international 
activities appears in the Report of the Federal Interagency Committee on 
Recombinant DNA Research: International Activities (see pages 16-34). 
2. Are there some nations that do not intend to promulgate special 
guidelines for recombinant DNA research? 
A. Nations differ in their perceptions of the need to adopt safety 
measures and of the nature of these measures. In some countries, such 
as Switzerland, the NIH Guidelines are the model. In others, the United 
Kingdom Guidelines are being used, and a blending of the two is common 
in other countries. (The United Kingdom Guidelines appear as Appendix 
IV in the Interagency Report.) All nations that we have heard are 
conducting some of this research have adopted or intend to adopt some 
form of guidelines to govern recombinant DNA research. 
3. Are there some nations where observance of guidelines is entirely 
voluntary? 
A. Generally countries where recombinant DNA research is conducted 
require that Federal grantees receiving funds from the government 
conform to certain guidelines while allowing conformance by private 
industry to be voluntary. However, Switzerland has a completely voluntary 
system. The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences has recommended that 
Swiss researchers follow the U.S. Guidelines on a voluntary basis, and 
the Academy has established a voluntary registry for both public and 
private sectors. 
4. How many nations have legally enforceable guidelines, and what are 
these nations? 
A. At present no nation has enacted legislation or implemented overt 
regulations to govern this research. In the United Kingdom, the Health 
and Safety Executive (an agency with functions comparable to the Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration in the U.S.) issued draft regulations 
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