BIOSAFETY AND RISK

ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCTS OF
MODERN BIOTECH
KEZIAH JAZEL D. ANDAG
 Lesson Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students are be able to:

01 02 03

IDENTIFY THE IDENTIFY THE RISKS IDENTIFY THE

IMPORTANCE OF MODERN IMPORTANCE OF
BIOTECH TO THE RISK ASSESSMENT
OF BIOSAFETY.
ENVIRONMENT. TO THE
ENVIRONMENT
 Topics

What is biosafety to the

environment?
Environmental Risks
Biosafety levels
Risk assessment
01
Environmental Risk
Assessment (ERA)
Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA)
is a systematic approach for
assessing and managing the risk
associated with human health and
ecological entities caused by an event
occurring in the environment.

 EPA has conducted an environmental

reassessment of the registered B.t. plant-
incorporated protectants. The general topics
covered include gene flow and potential for
weeds to develop if pollen from B.t. crops
plants were to fertilize other plant, horizontal
gene transfer, expression of B.t. Cry proteins in
plant tissues, ecological effects, especially
considering the currently available data on
monarch butterflies, and fate of B.t. Cry
proteins in the environment.
02
WHAT IS BIOSAFEETY?
 What is biosafety to
the environment?
Biosafety refers to the safe management of living
organisms and genetic material, including pathogens
and genetically modified organisms. Under
international environmental law and policy, biosafety
refers to the need to protect the environment and
human health from the possible adverse effects of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products
resulting from modern biotechnology.

 BIOSAFETY LEVELS

Biosafety levels (BSL) are used to identify

the protective measures needed in a
laboratory setting to protect workers, the
environment, and the public. Biosafety level
designations in the BMBL outline specific
practices and safety and facility
requirements.

Biosafety to environment
Effect on nontarget organisms
Possible development of weedy relatives
Possible development of resistant pests
Persistence in the environment
Possible effects on biodiversity
 EFFECT OF BT CORN TO
MONARCH BUTTERFLY

NON-TARGET ORGANISM: monarch butterfly

GM PRODUCT: bt corn
 POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT
OF WEEDY RELATIVES

Crop wild relatives are wild plant species that

are genetically related to cultivated crops.
Untended by humans, they continue to evolve
in the wild, developing traits – such as drought
tolerance or pest resistance – that farmers
and breeders can cross with domesticated
crops to produce new varieties.
WEEDY RICE
 Possible development of
resistant pests
One successful application of this new
technology is the development of corn hybrids
that are resistant to certain insect pests
because of the addition of a gene from a natural
soil bacterium. Such hybrids are referred to as
“transgenic” hybrids, although not all
transgenic hybrids contain insect resistance
traits.
 Persistence in the
environment

Environmental persistence is an important

property that can enhance the potential of a
chemical substance to exert adverse effects and
be transported to remote environments. The
persistence of organic compounds is governed by
the rates at which they are removed by biological
and chemical processes, such as biodegradation,
hydrolysis, atmospheric oxidation, and photolysis.
 POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON
BIODIVERSITYY

Biodiversity is represented by both numbers

of species and genetic variability within the
species. Concerns have been raised that the
wide spread of GM crops could adversely
affect the levels of natural diversity

Thank you!