Biosafety Issues: Importance, Levels, Rules and Advantages

Biosafety issue is simply means problems in biological safety (generally for humans). A biosafety is a compressed term for all the procedures, principles, and policies made and introduced to safeguard the environment and the human population.

• Biosafety considers the practices and strategies adapted to prevent exposure to pathogens and toxins.
• It checks its primary aim for harmful biological agents, chemicals, toxins, and radiation.
• With the advancement of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, biosafety has gained importance for ensuring public and nature’s safety. 
• It is very important to be aware about biosafety releted issues to assure safety of each living things. 

Key Takeaways: Biosafety, Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Pathogens, Biological agents, Chemicals, Toxins, Radiation, Environment, Nature, Human

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What are Biosafety Issues?

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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:

• 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. 

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Importance of Biosafety

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As the biosafety levels are crucial for ecosystems, it is necsessary to know about its importance.

• Sustainable development is something fundamental to be taken into consideration.
• Biosafety is one of the ways it can be achieved. Biosafety teaches to take care of the environment and prevent it from getting damaged or destroyed. 
• 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.

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Biosafety Levels

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Biosafety levels are various stages of biocontainment precautions carefully arranged to safeguard the laboratories personnel, the environment, and the community. These levels are decided as per the pathogenicity of the organisms being used. 

Biosafety Levels

Biosafety Level 1

The first level of Biosafety includes the least harmful agents. It is the lowest level of all the levels of Biosafety. They are so less toxic that they do not even need to be isolated from the building. For example, the non-pathogenic strain of E.coli is worked at the Biosafety level 1. 

The biosafety level 1 practices are as mentioned below: 

• Avoiding splashes and aerosols during the experiment
• Washing hands with soap
• Taking care of signs of biohazards
• Safe handling of sharp tools
• Mechanical pipetting
• Strict prohibition on drinking, smoking, and food in the laboratories
• Use of protective equipment such as gloves, goggles, lab coats, gowns while the experiment
• All the infectious experimental material should be decontaminated before being disposed of

Biosafety Level 2

This level deals with the agents that cause human illness. For example., HIV, encephalitis virus, Staphylococcus aureus, and many more. Personnel working in these laboratories need greater attention to prevent injuries such as cuts, ingestions, etc.

The practices to be carried out in a Biosafety Level 2 laboratory are as follows:

• It would be best to use protective equipment such as goggles, glasses, face shields, etc.
• The procedures that can cause infections should be carried out in biological safety cabinets.
• The waste material should be decontaminated before disposal.
• An eyewash and a sink should always be available.
• Biohazard signs should be provided.

Biosafety Level 3

The Level 3 of Biosafety includes working on pathogenic microbes that inhalation can cause severe disease. For example., yellow fever virus, west nile virus, bacteria causing tuberculosis, etc.

The standard requirements in a Biosafety level 3 laboratory are:

• Protective equipment, including respirators, is a must.
• All the experiments should be carried out under proper biosafety cabinets.
• The lab door should have access away from the general building.
• The researchers should be kept under medical surveillance and pre-immunized against certain microbes they perform experiments on.

Biosafety Level 4

The fourth level of Biosafety deals with hazardous and exotic microbes. Infections through these microbes cannot be treated or immunized and are usually fatal—for example, Ebola and Marburg virus.

Below are some of the standard requirements needed in a biosafety level 4 laboratory:

• The researchers need to change their clothes and shower while leaving.
• All the experiment materials should be carefully decontaminated.
• All the experiments should be carried out under class III safety cabinets.
• The laboratory is isolated from the main building and present in a separate building, and the entry to this zone is highly restricted.

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Rules for Biosafety

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The general public should be aware of the rules and regulations and the monitoring bodies for Biosafety. One hundred sixty-seven countries, including United Nations, adopted an agreement on Biosafety titled “The Cartagena Protocol on biosafety”, enforced in 2003.

The main aim of this protocol was to:

1. Ensure secure movement of living modified organisms across the boundaries. 
2. It also dealt with the framing and sharing of the methods and principles for risk assessment by taking biosafety measures by clearinghouses.

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Authorities Regulating Biosafety Measures

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There are many authorities and institutions regulating biosafety rules and regulations. Some of them are listed below:

1. The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI)
2. Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)
3. Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM)
4. Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC)
5. State Biotechnology Coordination Committee (SBCC)

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Advantages of Biosafety Issues

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Biosafety issues have advantages like:

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

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Things to Remember

• All the policies and principles adopted to safeguard the environment and the humans together comprise Biosafety. 
• We can also say that Biosafety includes all the containment principles and strategies to prevent exposure to microbes and toxins. There are rules and regulations for maintaining Biosafety. 
• Some make these rules of the monitoring bodies for Biosafety like BRAI, GEAC, SBCC, etc. Biosafety has many advantages. 
• It plays a significant role in maintaining a safe environment for all living organisms. Everyone should be aware of its advantages and how we can achieve them. 

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