Synthetic biology and occupational risk

Details

• Personal Author:
  Howard J ; Murashov V ; Schulte P
• Description:
  Synthetic biology is an emerging interdisciplinary field of biotechnology that involves applying the principles of engineering and chemical design to biological systems. Biosafety professionals have done an excellent job in addressing research laboratory safety as synthetic biology and gene editing have emerged from the larger field of biotechnology. Despite these efforts, risks posed by synthetic biology are of increasing concern as research procedures scale up to industrial processes in the larger bioeconomy. A greater number and variety of workers will be exposed to commercial synthetic biology risks in the future, including risks to a variety of workers from the use of lentiviral vectors as gene transfer devices. There is a need to review and enhance current protection measures in the field of synthetic biology, whether in experimental laboratories where new advances are being researched, in health care settings where treatments using viral vectors as gene delivery systems are increasingly being used, or in the industrial bioeconomy. Enhanced worker protection measures should include increased injury and illness surveillance of the synthetic biology workforce; proactive risk assessment and management of synthetic biology products; research on the relative effectiveness of extrinsic and intrinsic biocontainment methods; specific safety guidance for synthetic biology industrial processes; determination of appropriate medical mitigation measures for lentiviral vector exposure incidents; and greater awareness and involvement in synthetic biology safety by the general occupational safety and health community as well as by government occupational safety and health research and regulatory agencies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Chemistry Engineering Environmental Exposure Genetics Laboratories Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Synthetic Biology Biocontainment Bioeconomy Biological Factors Biosafety Biotechnology Industry Chemical Composition Exposure Levels Gene Editing Genes Lentivirus Molecular Biology Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Measures Synthetic Materials Viral Vectors Work Environment Workers

  More +
• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  224-236
• Volume:
  14
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048827
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2017 Mar; 14(3):224-236
• Contact Point Address:
  Vladimir Murashov, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 395 E Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20201
• Email:
  vem8@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1708dedcd36d6203f6b50dc7379aff20e6ae08eaff5c5996aa37acc793c5b465da51092c7933fb6511bcec55bdee7140b84d870530178ab7ec7e1b26aa019f61
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203458/cdc_203458_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 687.09 KB ]