| | | BBP steering team ’24-‘25’ elections: don’t forget to vote! | | | | We have received four candidatures of enthusiastic BBP members, that would like to join the BBP Steering Team in 2024 - 2025. As we only have three spots available, we unfortunately need to select. For that, a vote is organized so that you all have a say.
You can vote here (if you haven’t voted yet). Don’t forget to log on first and then click on the link.
Deadline for voting is Sunday January 28, 2024! | | | | Just before Christmas, an information session was planned by the National Crisis Centre on the emergency planning regarding biosafety. As part of a review of the legislation on the contained use of pathogens and genetically modified organisms, it has been found that the emergency planning scheme is inadequate. This is partly due to the compartmentalization between services, whereby - especially confidential - information may not be automatically shared between competent authorities. They now want to tackle this as soon as possible.
This implies that:
- Every organization, regardless of the risk level of its activities, is already required by law to have an internal emergency plan in place. This will be monitored more closely.
- Organisations with high biological risk activities (all risk level 3 and 4 activities and risk level 2 large scale activities) must provide information to the provincial governor so that he can draw up a "Special Emergency and Intervention Plan". The first step for providing information is to fill out a new form "NPU". The deadline for submission of the updates plans is January 31 2024!
If you need more info, please contact the National Crisis Centre (npu@nccn.fgov.be) or Sciensano (contained.use@sciensano.be). | | | | BBP Workshop on Biocides: Save the date! | | | | The BBP ST is busy planning and preparing a workshop on Biocides together with EBSA task force on biocides. The workshop will take place on 22 April 2024 (10-15h) in Ghent (De Punt). In the morning we’ll provide sessions with several speakers & discussion. In the afternoon we will roll up our sleeves for a practical spill training! | | | | Updates & publications on the website of SBB (Sciensano) | | | | The global trade in wild plant and animal species is an important and lucrative activity estimated at several billion euros per year. If this trade is not controlled or regulated, it can threaten the survival of these species in the wild. That is why the United Nations introduced the CITES Convention in 1975. CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
If you are dealing with wild fauna and flora for research purposes, CITES may be relevant!
The federal public service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment has an online counter for requesting CITES documents.
On the CITES website, you can also find a circular letter on the customs procedures to be carried out by persons importing or re-exporting species protected by CITES into the EU or from the EU, in Dutch and in French. | | | | Research in the life sciences may become dual use in nature, meaning that, for example, biological agents, including the knowledge about them and underlying techniques, can be used in two ways. On the one hand, it is extremely important to research pathogenic organisms and development in medical, biological and agricultural fields have an important societal contribution. However, some of these organisms can also be used to develop biological weapons that may pose a threat to public health and the living environment. It is therefore important that researchers, biorisk professionals and responsible authorities consider whether the research taking place poses potential dual use risks.
The Dutch Biosecurity Office has been working on developing an animation video aiming at providing more clarity about what dual use is and how the different definitions are used. The animation can be found via https://www.bureaubiosecurity.nl/en/dual-use-animatie.
This animation video can support you and your organization in increasing dual-use awareness and provide clarity in communication about dual use. Please feel free to share and use the animation video under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. | | | | The Department Strategic Goods Control (Flanders Chancellery & Foreign Office) organises several basic courses on dual use: March 28, November 28 (online) and June 2 (live @ Herman Teirlinck, Brussels). For more info, reference is made to the SGC website. | | | | Yearly update European Dual Use Regulation (2021/821) | | | | The Regulation (EU) (2021/821) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items (recast) has been updated in December 2023. This latest version of the Regulation can be found via https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html. | | | | | |
