To all Faculty, Students and Staff:
The proposed revisions to OMB Circular A-110 regarding public access to research data of all federally funded research is an item of considerable importance to all researchers. This revision was proposed in response to the failed attempts of several regulated groups to obtain research data from Harvard investigators which supported EPA's revised air quality standards.
I and my colleagues have experienced the relentless attempts by the tobacco industry to obtain interviews and other research materials from epidemiologic studies studying the health effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). (ETS was recently classified by the National Toxicology Program, NIEHS, as a human carcinogen.) This revision would eliminate the limited protection that now exists.
Data-sharing with scientific colleagues is recognized and supported as a valuable aspect of the scientific process. It should be encouraged. The motivation of the proposed revision to OMB Circular A-110 goes beyond data-sharing with scientific colleagues and the consequences could be chilling for public health research.
Please review the following notice published in the Federal Register and take the time to forward comments before April 5th.
Patricia A. Buffler, Ph.D., M.P.H.
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