title: Institutional biosafety committees and public participation: assessing an experiment.
abstract: The most innovative aspect of institutional biosafety committees, responsible in the United States for local oversight of recombinant DNA research is mandatory participation from outside the institution. A survey of Californian committees and selected national data reveals wide variability in committee structure and procedures. Public participation, although constrained in various ways, has been generally constructive.
mesh_terms: D026683:Advisory Committees; D003264:Containment of Biohazards; D033161:Government Regulation; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D014481:United States