Improving Security Through International Biosafety Norms
Abstract
The lack of national security norms and guidance governing research with highly transmissible pathogens poses a grave global security threat. Research on highly transmissible pathogens, including SARS and engineered influenza strains, is performed all over the world. While the work is undertaken for beneficent purposes, accidents have the potential to spark a pandemic. The prevalence of such research increases the potential for accidents that spread beyond borders. At the research institution level, there is substantial safety guidance but there is a lack of expectations and guidance at the national level for what should constitute biosafety norms. Without clear expectations for nations’ commitments to biosafety, it will not be given adequate resources, adherence cannot be compared between nations, and threats to security due to potential accidents with high-consequence pathogens will persist. Addressing this problem will have a public purpose, to make consequential laboratory accidents less likely. We will investigate (1) Which norms are important components of a national biosafety program to improve security (2) How to build confidence among nations that research on high-consequence pathogens is being carried out safely in other nations and (3) What biosafety infrastructure is in place in a select group of case-study nations? There will be a 2-day international expert meeting, and a final report outlining biosafety norms for international consideration.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 08, 2016
- Source ID
- N002441510028
Entities
People
- Gigi Gronvall
Organizations
- United States Navy