Download or read book Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High Containment Biological Laboratories written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-04-02 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During July 10-13, 2011, 68 participants from 32 countries gathered in Istanbul, Turkey for a workshop organized by the United States National Research Council on Anticipating Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-containment Biological Laboratories. The United States Department of State's Biosecurity Engagement Program sponsored the workshop, which was held in partnership with the Turkish Academy of Sciences. The international workshop examined biosafety and biosecurity issues related to the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of high-containment biological laboratories- equivalent to United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biological safety level 3 or 4 labs. Although these laboratories are needed to characterize highly dangerous human and animal pathogens, assist in disease surveillance, and produce vaccines, they are complex systems with inherent risks. Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-Containment Biological Laboratories summarizes the workshop discussion, which included the following topics: Technological options to meet diagnostic, research, and other goals; Laboratory construction and commissioning; Operational maintenance to provide sustainable capabilities, safety, and security; and Measures for encouraging a culture of responsible conduct. Workshop attendees described the history and current challenges they face in their individual laboratories. Speakers recounted steps they were taking to improve safety and security, from running training programs to implementing a variety of personnel reliability measures. Many also spoke about physical security, access controls, and monitoring pathogen inventories. Workshop participants also identified tensions in the field and suggested possible areas for action.
Download or read book Developing Norms for the Provision of Biological Laboratories in Low Resource Contexts written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-05-01 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On June 27-28, 2018, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) convened an international workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on developing norms for the provision of laboratories in low-resource contexts. The U.S. Department of State's Biosecurity Engagement Program requested that the National Academies organize this workshop to engage an international group of organizations that provide funding for construction, upgrades, and maintenance of biological laboratories in countries without the means to build such labs themselves. Twenty-one people from 19 organizations participated. The intent was to advance the conversation about the identification and application of guiding principles and common norms for use by these organizations in their grants, partnerships, and aid. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.
Download or read book Oversight of High Containment Biological Laboratories written by Frank Gottron and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2009-12 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fed. gov¿t. responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent anthrax attacks with increased focus on and funding for biodefense. High-containment labs. (HCL) play a critical role in the biodefense effort, offering the hope of better responses to an attack and a better understanding of the threat posed by bioterrorism. However, they also could increase the risk of a biological attack by serving as a potential source of materials or training. Policymakers have become increasingly interested in the oversight of these facilities following reports of accidents, regulatory noncompliance, and community resistance. A key task for policymakers is to define their goals for enhancing oversight of HCL. Illustrations
Download or read book High Containment Laboratories written by Ann Wright and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. laboratories working with dangerous biological pathogens (commonly referred to as high-containment laboratories) have proliferated in recent years. As a result, the public is concerned about the oversight of these laboratories. The deliberate or accidental release of biological pathogens can have disastrous consequences. This report determines: (1) to what extent, and in what areas, the number of high-containment laboratories has increased in the U.S.; (2) which federal agency is responsible for tracking this expansion and determining the associated aggregate risks; and (3) lessons learned from highly publicized incidents at these laboratories and actions taken by the regulatory agencies. Charts and tables.
Download or read book High containment Laboratories Recent Incidents of Biosafety Lapses written by Nancy Kingbury and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book High containment Laboratories Comprehensive and Up to date Policies and Stronger Oversight Mechanisms Needed to Improve Safety written by U.s. Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: " Safety lapses at federal high-containment laboratories in 2014 and 2015 raised concerns about federal departments' oversight of these laboratories. These laboratories work with hazardous biological agents to develop measures to protect public and animal health and the food supply against these agents. GAO was asked to review oversight at federal high-containment laboratories. This report examines (1) the extent to which federal agencies have comprehensive and up-to-date policies for managing biological agents in these laboratories, (2) how they oversee laboratories, and (3) the extent to which HHS and DOD have implemented recommendations from laboratory safety reviews. GAO assessed policies and oversight activities at 8 departments and their 15 component agencies that own and operate high-containment laboratories against federal internal control standards and program management leading practices, reviewed plans for implementing laboratory safety recommendations, and interviewed federal officials. "
Download or read book Biosafety in the Laboratory written by Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biosafety in the Laboratory is a concise set of practical guidelines for handling and disposing of biohazardous material. The consensus of top experts in laboratory safety, this volume provides the information needed for immediate improvement of safety practices. It discusses high- and low-risk biological agents (including the highest-risk materials handled in labs today), presents the "seven basic rules of biosafety," addresses special issues such as the shipping of dangerous materials, covers waste disposal in detail, offers a checklist for administering laboratory safetyâ€"and more.
Download or read book High Containment Laboratories written by Marcia Crosse and published by . This book was released on 2016-05-22 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Safety lapses at federal high-containment laboratories in 2014 and 2015 raised concerns about federal departments' oversight of these laboratories. Such laboratories work with hazardous biological agents to develop measures to protect public and animal health and the food supply against these agents. This report examines (1) the extent to which federal agencies have comprehensive and up-to-date policies for managing biological agents in these laboratories; (2) how they oversee laboratories; and (3) the extent to which the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DOD) have implemented recommendations from laboratory safety reviews. Tables. This is a print on demand report.
Download or read book High containment Laboratories written by Nancy R. Kingsbury and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Oversight of High containment Biological Laboratories written by Frank Gottron and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The federal government responded to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent anthrax attacks with increased focus on and funding for biodefense. A key consideration in this response was addressing shortages in diagnostic, clinical, and research laboratory capacity. Several departments and agencies have increased or are in the process of increasing their laboratory capacity. High-containment laboratories play a critical role in the biodefense effort, offering the hope of better responses to an attack and a better understanding of the threat posed by bioterrorism. However, they also could increase the risk of a biological attack by serving as a potential source of materials or training. Indeed, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism recommends tightening government oversight of high-containment laboratories. Policymakers have become increasingly interested in the oversight of these facilities following reports of accidents, regulatory noncompliance, and community resistance. The increase in high-containment laboratory capacity has raised new policy questions and emphasized existing ones. How much laboratory capacity is enough? What is the necessary federal investment? Should laboratories be consolidated or dispersed? What plans exist to coordinate multiple agency efforts to expand high-containment laboratory capacity? Does increasing laboratory capacity increase the risk of accidents and the opportunity for purposeful misuse? What is an acceptable balance between the benefits these laboratories provide and the risks they pose?
Download or read book High Containment Laboratories written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-03 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: High-Containment Laboratories: National Strategy for Oversight Is Needed
Download or read book High containment Laboratories written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Biosafety and Biosecurity Issues in High Containment Laboratories written by Damon S. Samuels and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stringent protocols and engineering are used to contain the most dangerous pathogens, therefore these facilities are often referred to as high-containment laboratories. High-containment laboratories play a critical role in the biodefense effort, offering the hope of better responses to a biological attack and a better understanding of the bioterrorism threat. However, they could also increase the risk of a biological attack by being a source of materials or training. This book examines the biosafety and biosecurity issues in high-containment laboratories across the United States.
Download or read book High Containment Biosafety Laboratories written by Nancy Kingsbury and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing to move foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) research from its current location on a federally owned island off the northern tip of Long Island, NY -- and potentially into the U.S. mainland. FMD is the most highly infectious animal disease that is known. A single outbreak of FMD on the U.S. mainland could have significant economic consequences. This report evaluates the evidence DHS used to support its decision that FMD work can be done safely on the U.S. mainland, whether an island location provides any additional protection over and above that provided by modern high containment labs. on the mainland, and the economic consequences of an FMD outbreak on the U.S. mainland. Illus.
Download or read book High containment Laboratories written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Energy and Commerce and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is still no one agency or group that knows the nation's need for all U.S. high- containment laboratories, including the research priorities and the capacity, number and location, to address priorities. This deficiency may be more critical today than 3 years ago because current budget constraints make prioritization essential. Since the publication of our report in 2009, the number of high-containment laboratories has increased. Although modern high-containment technologies (for example, high-efficiency particulate air [HEPA] filtration) in conjunction with laboratory design have been effective in reducing the level of risk, there is nevertheless some degree of risk associated with design, construction, operations, and maintenance of high-containment laboratories. This was realized following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) power failure incident in Atlanta, Georgia, where no biological agent was released but that showed the difficulties in maintaining biological containment, and a leaky pipe incident in Pirbright, United Kingdom, that failed to maintain biological containment. Increasing the number of laboratories also increases the aggregate national risk. GAO found a continued lack of national standards for the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of high-containment laboratories. These laboratories are expensive to build, operate, and maintain. As we noted in our 2009 report, in the absence of national standards, it is likely that there may be variations resulting from local requirements, but without an underpinning set of standards to ensure safe operations. In the absence of some fundamental criteria, each laboratory can be designed, constructed, and maintained according to local requirements. This will make it difficult to be able to assess and guarantee safety, as we noted in our 2009 report. For example, while investigating a power outage incident in its recently constructed BSL-4 laboratory, the CDC later determined that, some time earlier, a critical grounding cable buried in the ground outside the building had been cut by construction workers digging at an adjacent site. The cutting of the grounding cable, which had hitherto gone unnoticed by CDC facility managers, compromised the electrical system of the facility that housed the BSL-4 laboratory. Given that grounding cables were cut, it is apparent that the building's integrity as it related to adjacent construction was not adequately supervised. CDC officials stated in 2009 that standard procedures under local building codes did not require monitoring of the integrity of the new BSL-4 facility's electrical grounding. This incident highlighted the risks inherent in relying on local building codes to ensure the safety of high-containment laboratories, as there are no building codes and testing procedures specifically for those laboratories. High-containment laboratories, biosafety level (BSL)-3 and BSL-4 laboratories, are used to (1) develop medical and veterinary countermeasures against biological agents and (2) research the risks these agents pose to human health, animal health, the food supply, and the U.S. economy. In 2009 GAO reported on the expansion of these laboratories, which began in the 1990s and accelerated after the 2001 anthrax attack. GAO found that although this expansion was occurring, no single federal agency was responsible for assessing overall laboratory needs. Instead, departments and agencies only assessed laboratory needs that were within the scope of their respective missions. GAO therefore determined that a national strategy for oversight, including periodic assessments of the nation's need for these laboratories, was called for. GAO also found that the absence of national standards for laboratory design, construction, commissioning, operations, and maintenance raised concerns and increased the risk of laboratory accidents. GAO's 2009 report made two recommendations to the National Security Advisor, located in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), to address these weaknesses. Specifically, GAO recommended that the National Security Advisor identify a single entity, charged with periodic government-wide strategic evaluation of high-containment laboratories, that will (1) determine (a) the number, location, and mission of the laboratories needed to effectively meet national goals to counter biothreats; (b) the existing capacity within the United States; (c) the aggregate risks associated with the laboratories' expansion; and (d) the type of oversight needed and (2) develop, in consultation with the scientific community, national standards for the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of high-containment laboratories, specifically including provisions for long-term maintenance. This report addresses the following questions: 1. What actions have been taken to implement the recommendations made in our 2009 report? 2. To what extent is action still needed concerning (1) an assessment of the nation's need for high-containment laboratories, including their numbers, functions, and research priorities and (2) the development of any national standards for designing, constructing, commissioning, maintaining, and operating high-containment laboratories? GAO recommends that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) ensure that periodic assessments of national biodefense research and development needs are conducted. These assessments would include whether appropriate resources, in particular, high containment laboratories, exist to meet those needs. GAO also recommends that the OSTP examine the need to establish national standards relating to designing, constructing, commissioning, maintaining, and operating high-containment laboratories.
Download or read book Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-02-12 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The effort to understand and combat infectious diseases has, during the centuries, produced many key advances in science and medicine-including the development of vaccines, drugs, and other treatments. A subset of this research is conducted with agents that, like anthrax, not only pose a severe threat to the health of humans, plants, and animals but can also be used for ill-intended purposes. Such agents have been listed by the government as biological select agents and toxins. The 2001 anthrax letter attacks prompted the creation of new regulations aimed at increasing security for research with dangerous pathogens. The outcome of the anthrax letter investigation has raised concern about whether these measures are adequate. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins evaluates both the physical security of select agent laboratories and personnel reliability measures designed to ensure the trustworthiness of those with access to biological select agents and toxins. The book offers a set of guiding principles and recommended changes to minimize security risk and facilitate the productivity of research. The book recommends fostering a culture of trust and responsibility in the laboratory, engaging the community in oversight of the Select Agent Program, and enhancing the operation of the Select Agent Program.
Download or read book High Containment Laboratories written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-05-11 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HIGH-CONTAINMENT LABORATORIES: Recent Incidents of Biosafety Lapses
