Public Health Service 
DEPARTMENTOF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 
National Institutes of Health j 
Bethesda, Maryland 20205 
October 1, 1982 
MEMORANDUM 
TO: Chairperson, Institutional Biosafety Committee 
FROM: Director, Office of Recombinant DN\ Activities, NIH 
SUBJECT: Solicitation of Comments on Revised Guidelines for 
Research Involving Recombinant DN\ Molecules 
At the June meeting of the Recombinant ENA Advisory Committee (RAC), it was 
recommended that a letter be sent to Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) 
to solicit information as to how IBCs are functioning under the NIH Guidelines 
for Research Involving Recombinant Molecules as revised during 1982. 
It was suggested that IBCs might wish to provide information on areas of 
concern, including the following: 
o What are the problems with the revised Guidelines? 
o What things are taking large amounts of time? 
o Vhat things are taking inappropriate amounts of time? 
o In what areas do you disagree with the RAC with regard to containment 
for a particular experiment? 
o In what ways are the Guidelines too stringent or too relaxed? 
o How frequently does your IBC meet? 
o Does your IBC have other responsibilities at your institution? Is it 
a general biosafety committee? If not, is it because of the way in 
which the NIH Guidelines are written, or is it because your institution 
has chosen to function this way? 
NIH and the RAC would appreciate your cocperation in providing comments on 
these and other issues fchich are of concern to your IBC. Please send your 
comments to me at the Office of Recombinant ENA Activities, Building 31, 
Roam 4A52, Bethesda, Maryland 20205. It would be helpful to have your comments 
by January 31, 1983. Your comments will be reviewed by a RAC Working Group on 
Revision of the Guidelines which has been charged with periodic review and 
updating of the Guidelines. 
H 
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