Ambiguities in Regulations Aimed at Safety in Intentional Work with Biological Agents

Abstract

The Czech Republic, like other member states of the European Union, has implemented Directive 2000/54/EC. However, the resulting form of the transposition does not fully correspond to the requirements set out in the directive. Above all, the omission of the terms containment and physical containment level, which are used not only in the directive, but also in the text of technical standards, is very problematic. As a result of the absence of the mentioned terms, it is very difficult for many employees to orient themselves in the Czech legal regulations focused on safety and health protection when working with biological agents. The article summarizes the requirements set by Czech regulations and compares them with the requirements of the Directive 2000/54/EC and technical standards. At the same time, it offers the reader a selection of the main regulations of a non-normative nature that have been created by international organizations (World health organization and European Committee for Standardization) in order to manage biological risk in the workplace.