Biotechnology Risk Assessment Resources
Available On Line

By Amy Charlene Reed, RiskWorld staff
E-mail to: reed@tec-com.com.

May 16, 1997 -- A rich offering of biotechnology risk assessment and management resources is on line at the Internet site of the Biosafety Information Network and Advisory Services, (BINAS), which is part of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Resources include the full texts of reports, newsletters, books, and scientific papers; a database of current biotechnology regulations in countries around the world (which is best accessed from BINAS' site map), a listing of news groups focusing on biotechnology and risk issues; and a directory of biosafety experts.

Later this year, the organization expects to expand its databases to include technology-impact assessments and intellectual property rights. Other ongoing projects include the regulatory harmonization of biotechnology in Central and Eastern Europe, a regional initiative involving the Association of South-East Asian Nations countries, and the development of joint reports by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on the regulatory assessment of environmental releases of genetically modified products.

BINAS, which draws its resources largely from the expertise and experience of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Trieste, Italy, receives approximately 3,600 requests per month from regulators, scientists, and industry officials in more than 40 countries, including the United States.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization founded BINAS in the early 1990s to foster biosafety around the world, with a special emphasis on developing countries, by providing information and scienced-based tools needed to attain an adequate oversight capability in biotechnology.

"The correct assessment of the potential benefits and risks associated with a rapidly developing technology that aims at modifying the very blueprint of living matter is a very difficult task," the BINAS Internet site states. "It involves not only evolving science-based principles, but also political adroitness in steering public sensitivities and concerns towards a constructive middle ground of informed judgements. The significance of dealing successfully with this daunting task cannot be overestimated."

Story posted May 16, 1997.

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