Document 6266J7YZyNXMYew8yZQ9qKzo

,. . AHlerican Pettolewn Institute \220 l SIn!ilI. Natihwe.sl Washilgton, DC 2OOIJ5.4Q70 TI~ 202..8201344 Fa: ZaHSZ-l210 E-malt twt,d1)\I@.pI.019 It-1'3 l3 LDlliin. e. T....,dok. Ph.D OAar Manager, Healill ScienCIIS Dear Benzene Research lnterested Stakeholder, On June 12 of this year representatlves of invited companies met to consider participation in a consortium to fund epidemiological research on benzene In Shanghai. China. You were sent an invitalion and backgroUnd materials for the meeting but were unable to attend. At that meellng an overview of Ihe scienUfic protocol for the studies was presented and there appeared to be agreemEint that the propos!!d research was valuable and that the scientific; approach was appropriate. At the conclusion of thai. meeling. the company representatives present agreed 10 determIne If their companies were willin{:- to supportlhe program in princlple and to commit to proceed to the next step of working out terms of membership and how to address issues related to Ihe bioethics of conducting this type of research. This second meeting of potential members or the consortium has been scheduled for August 31. 2000 starting at 9:00 AM at the American Petroleum Institute headquarters in Washington. D.C, At this Ume we have reeeived expressions of interest in proceeding to this next slep from most of the companies present at our June 12 meeting at which the proposed research program was presented. I hope thai you or another representative from your company will be able to aHend the upcoming meeting. The purpose of the Augusl31 meetlng Js to address a number of Issues that have been Identified as crucial 10 membership by a number of companies. These are the basis for cosl sharing and the maMer in which the ethical considerations of wor1dng with human volunteers would be addressed. In addiUon. plans to solicit membership from European benzene producers and a proposal for the Infrastructure of the consoriium will be presented for dfscussion and approval The.8enzene Task Force has retained an Internationally known bioelhlclst, Dr. Baruch Brody of Baylor University College of Medicine (Houston. TX.), to assist us in drafting a plan to . idenlify and address the bicethics issues Involved in our proposed research plan. The August 31 meeting date was chosen to allow Dr. Brody to be present at the meeting. Please consult with the appropriate indl",iduals to determine what options for financial sharing are acceptable' to your company (e.g., equal shares; membership levels based upon company size;. ele.) llInd come prepared to discuss these. We intend that the /'lext step forward on the path to consot1ium formation ailer lhis meellng will be for each company to delennlne a level of finam:ial support to which it is Willing to commit and to agree to terms of membership that will be drawn up based upon the agreements made at !his meeting. It is Imperalille that we move forward with forming the consortium ill Qrder to der, :ms\nlte 10 our Chinese roUaborators that we are committed 10 the research and to proYide funding for protocol development and placing of the laboratory facilities in Shanghai MOC00044954 This meeling is critical 10 formalion of the consortium and all interesled companies need to be represented. If you cannot attend, please arran!;e for an allemale from your company. Due 10 the number of issues to be addressed the meeUng will start at 9;00 AM and attendees should be prepared to stay until 3:00 PM. A follow-up mailing will be coming shortly with pre meeting attachments including a draft agenda, Dr, Brody's bio, a summary of ilia plan to address !he bioetllics considerations, and additional samples of cosi. sharing arrangements from other industry consortia. Please RSVP to Paula Podhasky at API (pOdhaskVp@apj,org,(202)682-6333), Sincerely, ._--"'._-._-- _._------------ MOC00044955