Need for Safety

Industries and
Research
Laboratories
BY
CHITRADEVI.K
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
KCET
 Biosafety

Biosafety:
 The application of lab practices and procedures, specific lab facilities and safety
equipment to protect against exposure to potentially infectious material
 The discipline addressing the safe handling and containment of infectious
microorganisms and hazardous biological materials
 The practice of safe handling of pathogenic micro-organisms and their toxins in
the biological laboratory is accomplished through the application of containment
principles and the risk assessment. 
 Biosafety is the application of knowledge, techniques and equipment in order to
prevent personal, laboratory and environmental exposure to potentially infectious
agents or Bio-hazardous materials
 Biosafety is related to several fields as: ecology, chemistry, exobiology, medicine,
agriculture, and human health.
 Biosafety is the application of safety precautions that reduce a laboratorians risk
of exposure to a potentially infectious materials and limit contamination of the
work environment and ultimately the community
 Hazards

 Chemical hazards typically found in laboratory settings

include carcinogens, toxins, irritants, corrosives, and sensitizers. 
 Biological hazards include viruses, bacteria, fungi, prions, and biologically-derived
toxins, which may be present in body fluids and tissue, cell culture specimens,
and laboratory animals.
 Physical hazards include ergonomic hazards, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation,
and noise hazards.
 Additional safety hazards include burns and cuts from autoclaves, injuries
from centrifuges, compressed gas leaks, cold burns from cryogens, electrical
hazards, fires, injuries from machinery, and falls
 Routes of exposure for chemical and biological hazards
include inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, and eye contact.
 Biohazard

Biohazard:
An agent of biological origin that has the capacity to produce negative effects on
humans, plants & animals
Biohazard Materials:
Bacteria, Virus, Parasites, Fungi, Human & Non human Primate Material,
Recombinant DNA, Animals, Biological Toxins
 History of Biosafety

 pre-history of the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA)

 first unofficial meeting was held on April 18, 1955 at Camp Detrick (now Fort
Detrick) & involved members of the military representing Camp Detrick
 “The Role of Safety in the Biological Warfare Effort.”
 1957 - the yearly meetings began to include non-classified sessions to broaden the
reach of the Association; representatives of the USDA were regular attendees
through this “transition period.”
 There were striking changes in the meetings in 1964-1965: the NIH and CDC
joined for the first time, along with a number of other relevant federal agencies.
 1966, the attendees included universities, private laboratories, hospitals, and
industry.
 1966, the attendees included universities, private laboratories, hospitals, and
industry.
 1974, the United States Postal Service and Department of Transportation
introduced regulations for shipping of etiologic agents (microorganisms and
toxins that cause disease in humans).
 New safety programs and trainings were introduced. The designation of 4 levels
of biosafety originated in the mid-1970
 1980s reveals increased focus on individual agents or groups of agents and
coordination of international safety issues
 Examples

 2001 white powder anthrax spore terrorist incident in the USA,

 2003 SARS outbreak,
 2009 global H1N1 pandemic
 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa

 Biosecurity
 Biosecurity defense requires systematic engineering, which involves monitoring
and warning, detection traceability, prevention and control, diagnosis and
treatment, emergency measures, and other technical aspects.
 Why we need biosafety?

 Lab has hazards of processing infectious agents

 Accidental threat to workers and environment
 To have adherence with safety regulations while dealing with highly infectious
agents

 Biosecurity and bioterrorism are emerging issues nowadays that need to be

checked upon in the interest of human and environmental safety. Biosafety is
therefore important to ensure the safe utilization of technology.
 Need for Biosafety

 The threat of biological laboratory accidents is not commonly understood to be

a serious health security concern similar in significance to the threats of
emerging infectious diseases and biological attacks.
 However, scientists are just now creating viruses that exceed the transmissibility
or pathogenicity of naturally occurring strains.
 contributing to the rising risk of accidents is the entry into the life sciences of
scientists from other fields,
 accustomed to weaker accountability measures, enjoy less training and weaker
knowledge of safety and consequences of accidents
 Unlike accidents in transportation, chemical production, or even nuclear power,
biosafety accidents can result in the unforeseen and uncontrolled infection of lab
personnel or their local communities, the release of a pathogen into the
environment, or even the initiation of a global pandemic that could reach
millions.
 While these concerns are valid, we are not paying enough attention to the costly
and real risks of biological laboratory accidents that threaten similarly
dangerous outcomes.
 Importance of Biosafety

 Sustainable development is something fundamental to be taken into consideration.

 Biosafety is one of the ways it can be achieved. Biosafety teaches you to take care of the
environment and prevent it from getting damaged or destroyed. 
 The areas where before implementing the genetic engineering practices, we need
approvals from the regulatory authorities of the country
 Biosafety becomes an effective tool to minimize the toxins entering our environment.
 Biosafety is also necessary to ensure the utilization of modern-day technologies. 
 Some of the biosafety rules have been passed and approved to maintain a certain level of
safety.
 Different biosafety levels have been proposed for the labs.
 This directly depends on the pathogenicity of the microorganisms being used for the
experiments.
BIOSAFETY ISSUES
 Biosafety issues

 Biosafety issues include all the processes,

policies, and principles which deal with
safeguarding the environment and
humans.
 These principles and strategies prevent
toxic and harmful exposure to nature and
humans.
 People should be made aware of all the
rules and regulations for Biosafety.
 With the advancements in biotechnology,
Biosafety has gained more importance in
society. The two main aims of Biosafety
issues are:
 Aims of Biosafety

 To ensure the safe movement of the

living organisms across the
boundaries.
 To frame and share the principles and
methodologies for risk assessment
through biosafety clearinghouses. 
 ISSUES

 With the increasing emphasis on adoption of GE technology, biosafety issues are

gaining importance to ensure safety of the public and the environment.
 increasing awareness among the researchers, producers and users of GMOs,
administrators, policy makers, environmentalists and general public about
biosafety.
 many countries have put into place regulatory policies and regulatory bodies for
research and development of GMOs, however strict compliance to biosafety
guidelines is still required in many developing countries.
 several technical issues of releasing GMOs in the environmental for commercial
uses
 safety of the laboratory workers, consumers and the environment as a whole is the
biggest issue.
 Biosafety and biosecurity issues became much stricter after 2001, when anthrax
attacks in the United States raised the spectra of bioterrorism using laboratory-
prepared pathogens.
 Unfortunately, stringent biosafety and biosecurity rules are still impractical in
many countries, where researchers need to handle infectious agents such as
anthrax and plague to protect public health, but lack the proper infrastructure.
 It is clear now that modern biotechnology promises to enhance the quality of
human life, if used judiciously.
 On the other hand, if used haphazardly and carelessly, it may have negative
impacts as well.
 Biosecurity is the need of the day, as bioterrorism is another associated concerns
emerging rapidly and need to be taken care in the interest of the sustainable
research and development as well as for healthy and safe environment.
 It is the prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on
ecology and human health.
 The international Biosafety Protocol deals primarily with the agricultural
definition but many groups advocate expanding it to include post-genetic
threats:
 new molecules, artificial life forms, and even robots which may compete directly
in the natural food chain.
 Biosafety in agriculture, chemistry, medicine, and exobiology and beyond, will
likely require application of the precautionary principle, and a new definition
focused on the biological nature of the threatened organism rather than the nature
of the threat.
 Biosafety refers to the need to protect the environment including human and
animal health from the possible adverse effects of the Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMOs) and products thereof derived from the use of modern
biotechnology.
 Biosafety also refers to promote the safe laboratory practices, procedures, proper
use of containment equipment and facilities, risk assessment and risk
management, evaluation of GMOs, etc.
 Biosafety regulations are to facilitate and regulate use of modern biotechnology
work at different stages to achieve the objectives of biosafety.
 Advantages of Biosafety Issues

 Biosafety issues have advantages like:

 Reduces risk and exposure to toxic and harmful elements.
 Inbuilt ventilation systems stop the entry of harmful microorganisms and gases.
 Provide a sterile environment.
 Use of rubber gloves.
 Using high-efficiency particulate filters like EPA prevents organisms
 Humans from coming in direct contact with any harmful particulate matter.