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General principles for risk assessment of living modified organisms: Lessons from chemical risk assessment*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2003

Ryan A. Hill  and
Cyrie Sendashonga
Ryan A. Hill
Affiliation:
Biosafety Programme, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 393 St Jacques St, Suite 300, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y1N9 Canada
Cyrie Sendashonga
Affiliation:
Biosafety Programme, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 393 St Jacques St, Suite 300, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y1N9 Canada

Abstract

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Modern biotechnology has led to the development and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) for agriculture and other purposes. Regulators at the national level are increasingly depending on risk assessment as a tool for assessing potential adverse effects of LMOs on the environment and human health. In addition, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, an international agreement expected to enter into force in the near future, requires risk assessment as the basis for decision-making regarding import of some LMOs. While LMO risk assessment is relatively new, there are other risk assessment disciplines which have developed over longer time periods. The field of assessment of the environmental and human health risks of chemicals is particularly well developed, and is similar in application to LMO risk assessment. This paper aims to draw lessons for LMO risk assessment from the vast experience with chemical risk assessment. Seven general principles are outlined which should serve as a useful checklist to guide assessments of risks posed by LMOs.

Keywords

risk assessmentliving modified organismsgenetically modified organismsbiosafety protocol
Type
Research Article
Information
Environmental Biosafety Research , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , April 2003 , pp. 81 - 88
Copyright
© ISBR, EDP Sciences, 2003

Footnotes

*

The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity or the Parties to the Convention.

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