App. B— Regulation of Animal Use Within Federal Departments and Agencies • 391 
In addition to requiring its own personnel, contract- 
ing agencies, and regulated parties to observe the re- 
quirements of the Animal Welfare Act and the NIH 
Guide in performing required safety tests on animals, 
CPSC has published an Animal Testing Policy, “which 
is intended to reduce the number of animals tested to 
determine hazards associated with household products 
and to reduce any pain that might be associated with 
such testing’’ (49 FR 22522). The policy states that CPSC 
itself and manufacturers of substances covered by the 
FHSA "should wherever possible utilize existing alter- 
natives to conducting animal testing [including] prior 
human experience, literature sources which record 
prior animal testing or limited human tests, and expert 
opinion.” 
Citing the provision in FHSA regulations that gives 
preference to studies based on humans over those with 
animals, the policy states that CPSC “resorts to animal 
testing only when the other information sources have 
been exhausted.” It also states that: 
• "limit” tests for acute toxicity studies, rather than 
the "classic” LD S0 , are performed when necessary, 
requiring fewer animals; 
• eye irritancy testing is not performed if the test 
substance is a known skin irritant; and 
• agency -required Draize (eye irritation) tests are 
modified to eliminate the need for restraining test 
rabbits, allowing them full mobility and access to 
food and water (49 FR 22522). 
Environmental Protection Agency 
The guidelines and policies that the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) follows governing humane 
treatment and appropriate veterinary care for labora- 
tory animals involve AAALAC accreditation for its two 
major laboratories, adherence to the NIH Guide , and 
adherence to the Animal Welfare Act. In addition, EPA 
has an intra-agency committee that oversees animal re- 
search issues. There is no separate policy for extramural 
research; NIH Guide principles and requisites are en- 
forced in such cases by a signed statement from the 
investigator that the proper animal care is being ob- 
served (16). 
The EPA facility at Research Triangle Park, NC, has 
an animal care committee that oversees and carries out 
an institutional review of animal care and welfare is- 
sues. The committee is composed of representatives 
of the different research divisions within that facility 
along with the attending veterinarian . Its 8 to 10 mem- 
bers, who meet approximately once a month and keep 
records of their proceedings, are responsible for ani- 
mal care issues only, and do not conduct scientific re- 
views of research proposals. Scientific review is done 
separately before proposals reach the committee. The 
overall responsibilities for the committee are to: 
• oversee the functioning of the animal care facility, 
• plan improvements for the facility and carry them 
out, 
• set policy for humane treatment of animals, 
• set policy for sharing facility resources, 
• address any day-to-day animal care problems 
brought to its attention, and 
• review proposals for appropriate animal use and 
care (2). 
In addition, the committee can recommend experi- 
mental changes to improve animal care and treatment 
and has the authority to interrupt or terminate an ex- 
periment if it finds any instances of inhumane treat- 
ment or inappropriate care of the animals, a step that 
has been taken at least once since the committee was 
established (2). 
The committee does not monitor experiments while 
in progress or handle the day-to-day activities of the 
animal care facility. These powers are delegated to the 
attending veterinarian (who is under contract with EPA 
to work at the facility 3 days a week) and a staff of ap- 
proximately 20 (2). 
National Aeronautics and Space 
A dminis tra tion 
The overall National Aeronautics and Space Admin- 
istration policy on animal research is based on the Ani- 
mal Welfare Act, the NIH Guide, and the IRAC princi- 
ples. All NASA facilities, all users of NASA facilities, 
aircraft, or spacecraft, and all NASA contractors using 
animals are subject to this policy. The overriding phi- 
losophy of the policy is based on three principles: 
• Animals will be used only to answer valid ques- 
tions that improve the health, welfare, or general 
medical and scientific knowledge of humans. 
• Experimental animals must not be subject to avoid- 
able discomfort or distress. 
• Experiments requiring the use of invasive proce- 
dures without benefit of anesthetic agents demand 
strong justification and attention to possible alter- 
natives (12). 
Although the NASA policy exists today as only a pro- 
posed NASA Management Instruction (NMI), it is already 
being implemented. For example, the NMI establishes 
an Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) in each 
facility with animals (12); the committee includes a 
research veterinarian, a biomedical scientist, a non- 
scientist, and a person not affiliated with NASA. It is 
responsible for overseeing the animal care facility, 
establishing specific guidelines, reviewing proposals, 
and making recommendations for approval or dis- 
