[I missed this when it was posted at the beginning of the month]
Posted on October 3, 2012
The federal government this week unveiled plans for a new “tiered” designation of pathogens on the Select Agent and Toxins List.
The changes require more stringent precautions at scientific facilities
holding any of the newly designated “Tier 1″ agents, which include Bacillus anthracis, Burkholderia mallei and pseudomallei, Foot-and-mouth disease virus, Ebola, Marburg virus and plague.
The revision requires installations dealing with Tier 1 agents to
enhance the frequency and of investigations on personnel with access to
the materials. Such facilities must also establish an auxiliary power
mechanism and no fewer than three physical “security barriers” for agent
holding areas, as well as institute procedures limiting agent access to
federally vetted personnel. (Source: NTI GSN)
“Such tiering of the list allows for the optimization of security
measures for those select agents or toxins that present the greatest
risk of deliberate misuse with the most significant potential for mass
casualties or devastating effects to the economy, critical
infrastructure, or public confidence,” stated the notice.
The reorganization comes as part of the biennial review of the Select
Agents program required under the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection
Act of 2002. The notice will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, available here.
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