Occupational health and safety in the biotechnology industry--a survey of practicing professionals

A survey was created to gauge how health and safety (H&S) resources are allocated in the biotechnology industry and to help understand the concerns of industry H&S professionals. A questionnaire was distributed to "the person most responsible for health and safety" at 34 companies; 12 commercial firms responded. Nearly 68% of the work force monitored did not fall into any biohazard classification. Almost 80% of work involving biohazards was considered "exempt" or "BL-1" under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classification system, indicating that most work was performed involving organisms of low pathogenic potential. H&S program development and administration is mature; 100% of respondents report having written programs for chemical, biological, and physical hazards. Chemical safety programs occupied, on average, the greatest percentage of the H&S professionals' time (46%), followed by biosafety (29.6%) and physical hazards (16.4%). The person most responsible for H&S averaged 65% of work time on H&S issues, while only 25% described their full-time responsibilities as H&S related. Staffing levels for companies with more than about 100 technical workers approximated 1.0-1.5 full-time H&S staff equivalents per 100 technical workers. This figure compares favorably with levels reported in a benchmarking survey of hospitals. Investigation into accident rates as a measure of H&S program effectiveness suggests that the biotechnology industry is a relatively safe one. Lost time injury and illness rates were significantly lower for the 12 participating companies than the accident frequency rates in the Standard Industrial Classification codes selected for comparison.