07/16/87 
Dr. McGarrity opened the meeting and made introductions around the room. 
Dr. Miller stated that Dr. Fedoroff’s proposal for containment improved previous proposals. Dr. 
Scandalios expressed concern about experiments in growth chambers. He asked what "double 
doors" would mean. In addition, because few greenhouses have sinks with hot and cold running 
water, hand washing requirements could be a problem. Dr. Karen Hughes proposed that, among 
numerous small details, the Working Group address questions of greenhouse costs first. Dr. 
Hardy proposed splitting the Working Group into two separate subgroups. 
Dr. McGarrity suggested that the Working Group read Dr. Fedoroff’s proposal on greenhouse 
containment levels. Dr. Fedoroff introduced Dr. Payne of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service of the Department of Agriculture. Dr. Payne stated that the Department of Agriculture 
Working Group, which includes representatives from both the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service and the Agricultural Research Service, had worked on the Environmental Protection 
Agency’s document. Dr. Fedoroff said that the Environmental Protection Agency’s document had 
four levels of greenhouse containment. The Department of Agriculture Working Group had 
addressed the shortcomings in the document and had sent it to a subgroup. 
Dr. Fedoroff, noting that she had consulted Dr. Vidaver on how to subdivide organisms, stated 
that a chart has been drafted; it was entitled, "Physical and Biological Containment Practices." 
She had received comments on what should go into each category and had also sent the draft 
chart to Dr. Kellner. Finally, she had prepared an "Appendix of Biological Containment Practices." 
She proposed that the Working Group break into subgroups, and invited comments. 
Dr. Richardson said that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) containment levels were designed 
to protect humans working in laboratories from infection. Citing the hand-washing example, he 
asked if Dr. Fedoroff’s proposals are needed. 
Dr. McGarrity asked about the status of exempt experiments. Dr. Fedoroff answered that most 
of these experiments were currently being carried out. She suggested that the Environmental 
Protection Agency’s document might be simplified substantially. Dr. Tolin stated that the 
Environmental Protection Agency’s document started with Appendix G of the NIH Guidelines, 
while the Arlington Workshop started from a different point. 
Dr. McGarrity hoped that precise language for the NIH Guidelines would be developed during 
this meeting. Dr. Fedoroff found the Institutional Biosafety Committee notification requirements 
regarding exempt experiments satisfactory. Dr. Gartland explained the situation regarding 
environmental assessments. Regarding the list, Dr. Bittle believed that the proposal solved a lot 
of problems. Dr. Stephen Hughes agreed, stating that the list was helpful because the 
Institutional Biosafety Committees may have been overly conservative in the past. Discussion 
of exemptions followed. 
Dr. Hardy asked whether an Agricultural Biotechnology Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, 
or ABRAC, would be created. Dr. Tolin answered affirmatively, but said that changes are 
proposed to be added to the NIH Guidelines. The Working Group then broke up into two groups 
until 1 1 :45 a.m. The members of the Plant Subgroup were: Drs. Korwek, K. Hughes, Hardy, 
Harding, Miller, Pramer, Scandalios, Fedoroff, Tolin and others. The members of the Animal 
Subgroup were: Drs. McGarrity, Bittle, Wagner, Lang, Sorensen, Richardson, and S. Hughes. 
[16] Recombinant DNA Research, Volume 13 
