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Health hazards in biotechnology

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Biosafety in Industrial Biotechnology

Abstract

Although the public perception of micro-organisms may be one of disease-causing germs, biotechnology is generally regarded as being a very safe industry with no reported cases of worker mortality caused by exposure to micro-organisms or their products. However, there have been many cases of workers being removed from processes or even from a company because of illness due to exposure to a micro-organism or a microbial product. Instances of occupational respiratory allergies have been reported in many countries including Britain, the former Soviet Union, the United States, the former Czechoslovakia, Italy and China.1. There are European biotechnology companies who have incidences of occupational asthma in the workforce of 12% with the resulting problem of losing highly qualified staff. In the UK occupational asthma caused by some biological products, including antibiotics and proteases, is recognised as a compensatable illness. Expenditure on preventing these symptoms is economic since it reduces sick leave, compensation and re-training costs.2.

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  1. A. M. Bennett
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Porton Down, Wiltshire, UK

    P. Hambleton  & J. Melling  & 

  2. Science and Technology Section, British Embassy, Japan

    T. T. Salusbury

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Bennett, A.M. (1994). Health hazards in biotechnology. In: Hambleton, P., Melling, J., Salusbury, T.T. (eds) Biosafety in Industrial Biotechnology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1352-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1352-6_7

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