MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 
77 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE 
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02159 
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY 
Room 16-541 
February 25, 1976 
PHONE: (617) 253-1000 
3-4700 
Dr. Donald Frederick'son 
Director 
National Institute of Health 
Bethesda, Maryland 20014 
Dear Dr. Frederickson: 
Many of us who work in biological laboratories are concerned about 
particular weaknesses in the new NIH Biohazards Guidelines. We approve 
of the concept of institutional safety committees. However, we worry 
that such committees will be appointed, rather than elected, and that 
they will be composed solely of faculty and research directors. Since 
all people who work in and around laboratories will be subject to risk, 
and since only those who actually do the work have direct knowledge of the 
procedures followed, we feel that safety committees should be composed of 
representatives of all strata of the research workforce: technicians, 
graduate students, glassware washers, supervisors, postdoctoral fellows, 
custodians and clerical personnel. 
Here at M.I.T. we have organized such a committee. One of our first 
efforts was distributing a questionaire on safety procedures to all people 
working in the building. The results were deeply disturbing. Only a very 
small minority had received safety instruction, regular medical examinations, 
or safety updates. At present safety is left in the hands of research 
directors; since they have a strong vested interest in the carrying out of 
research at maximal speed, safety issues are often perceived by them as 
simply an impediment to research. 
We encourage you to insist that the guidelines clearly state that the 
safety committees must be representative of all segments of the workforce 
at risk. 
Our own experience has also taught us that safety and safety committees 
require money. We are not sure how this should be provided; whether as a / 
of overhead of each grant, or with the NIH providing funds to match institu- 
tional funds; or whether institutions be required to provide safety budgets 
as a precondition for obtaining grants. However, we feel that this aspect 
of the issue is a high priority. 
[ 487 ] 
