New white paper assists labs to maintain standards
worldwide, which aims to minimise the risk of infection through
focused biosafety reviews and further reinforce the required level
of infection control.
The report aims to highlight the potential health hazards lab workers face as they are exposed to infectious biological agents on a daily basis.
Development of new products from cells and tissues for therapeutic use, isolation and identification of genes and introduction of genes into microorganisms, plants, animals and human cells are all current and expanding biotechnologies.
However, these procedures can present health risks for infections in laboratory workers during the handling of bacteria, fungi, viruses, viral vectors, recombinant DNA (rDNA) and biological organisms containing rDNA.
The paper outlines a biosafety review process developed by the Environmental Health & Engineering (EH&E), a provider of health & safety and engineering consulting services for the biotech industry.
"Remaining in compliance with NIH recombinant DNA guidelines, the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) guidelines, and the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard is very demanding given the changing R&D efforts seen in many companies," said Jack McCarthy, President and co-founder of EH&E.
"We've found the best approach to maintaining compliance and reducing risk is a periodic biosafety review."
Primarily aimed at biotechnology, pharmaceutical and research laboratory staff, the white paper deals with ways to adhere to the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL).
Remaining in compliance can be demanding as research and development efforts continue to expand into new areas.
One subject touched upon is the need to modernise laboratory filtration mechanisms - an essential laboratory design feature for reducing levels of infectious agents in the air entering a laboratory and for removal of these agents from air exiting the laboratory.
"Such filtration is critical for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to insure product sterility," the report said.
The report also highlights the growing need for specific federal regulations to oversee the majority of cell and tissue culture activities in laboratories.
Bloodborne pathogens (BBP) such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and other infectious agents are sources of potential exposure to BBP.
EH&E's white paper: "Biosafety Review Key to Infection Control," is available for download here.
