Achieving optimal biological risk management in order to prevent unintentional exposure to biological agents or their accidental release involves first carrying out a biological risk assessment to identify and evaluate the potential hazards associated with each specific context and, from here, to be able to take appropriate decisions to apply the adequate corrective or preventive measures and to determine specifically the containment principles, technologies and specific procedures in each case.
Along these lines, RD 664/1997 specifies in article 6 Risk reduction that if the results of the assessment show a risk to the safety or health of workers due to exposure to biological agents, the risk of exposure must be reduced to the lowest possible level in order to adequately guarantee the safety and health of the staff concerned, in particular by means of the following measures:
- Establishment of adequate work procedures and use of appropriate technical measures to avoid or minimize the release of biological agents in the workplace.
- Reduction, to the minimum possible, of the number of workers who are or may be exposed.
- Adoption of safe measures for the reception, handling and transport of biological agents.
- Adoption of collective and individual protection measures.
- Use of safe means for the collection, packaging, and disposal of biological waste.
- Use of hygienic measures to avoid or hinder the dispersion of the biological agent.
- Use of the biological risk signal, as well as other relevant warning signals.
- Establishment of plans to deal with accidents that may result in exposure to biological agents.
This regulation also specifies that the risk assessment must identify those workers for whom it may be necessary to apply special protection measures.
