Biosafety and Biosecurity in the United States

The United States takes biosafety and biosecurity very seriously. As a result of lapses in biosafety practices that were discovered/came to light in the summer of 2014, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology John Holdren issued on August 18, 2014 a memorandum, entitled, “Enhancing Biosafety and Biosecurity in the United States,” which urged all United States Government departments and agencies that work with infectious agents to take immediate and long-term steps to enhance safety and security of research to minimize the potential for future incidents. All United States government departments and agencies that possess, use, or transfer human, animal, or plant infectious agents or toxins were urged to perform a Safety Stand-Down, to include an immediate sweep of their facilities to verify that all Biological Select Agents and Toxins in their possession were appropriately registered, stored, and disposed of in accordance with applicable regulations.