Biological Safety System of RIBSP
The division was organized in 1962, the task of which is to monitor compliance with the requirements of the veterinary-sanitary regime during the conduct of research work in the divisions of the Institute. The medical and veterinary-sanitary regime supported by ACRI initially included the basic elements of a biosafety system: regulatory normative instructions, engineering and technical systems for bio-isolation of pathogens, control of personnel for compliance with requirements, waste disposal and disinfection, etc.
With the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan, ACRI was one of the first in the country to establish cooperation with the largest scientific centers in Europe and the USA. In the framework of cooperation, joint research was carried out, which required the organization and harmonization of the institute’s biological safety system with international standards.
In 2006, by Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 742, the institute was reorganized into the Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems (RIBSP), thus, research in the field of biological safety became one of the main directions. The Division of Biological and Sanitary Safety (DSBS) as a subdivision of RIBSP was established in 2006 on the basis of the Veterinary and Sanitary Division. The primary task of the division was to develop Standard Operating Procedures for the institute’s divisions based on an analysis of international biosafety standards and regulatory acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To ensure biological safety, RIBSP introduced the International Standard for Laboratory Biorisk Management СWA 15793; 2008.
The division solves the tasks of ensuring biological safety at the RIBSP and performs the following functions:
- Control and observance of the biological safety of the institute during research and development works.
- Development, implementation and coordination of a biological risk management program.
- Development and implementation of organization standards and normative and instructional documents regulating biological safety requirements, measures for their observance and maintenance.
- Examination of technical regulations, standard operating procedures and other documents for compliance with biological safety requirements.
- Training programs for scientific, supportive and technical personnel on methods and techniques for safe operation and biological risk reduction.
- Conducting a preliminary assessment of biological risks and issuing permits for work with pathogens in the laboratories of the institute.
- Conducting planned validation of organization standards and other regulatory and instructive documents governing biological safety requirements and measures for their observance and maintenance.
- Updating international biosafety standards, amending the current instructions of the organization and the entry into force of new domestic regulations governing biosafety requirements and standards and bringing this information to all interested parties.
Ensuring biological safety and creating appropriate protective measures is based on the assessment and forecasting of the negative impact of potential biological threats.
Working conditions have been created, the Division of Biological and Sanitary Safety is staffed by specialists in the field of sanitation, veterinary medicine, medicine, sanitary microbiology, and ecology. The division carries out disinfection, physico-chemical studies, microbiological control of wastewater and ventilation systems, medical control and supervision of the personnel of RIBSP. Continuing professional development of employees, participation in conferences, trainings on biosafety and biosecurity.