This page is intended to be a reference page for various types of information in different formats. All of this will be grouped across domain per type. As information and/or documentation becomes available, it will be added to this page.
The first European Directives on biosafety were adopted in 1990. Since then, biosafety has evolved considerably at Belgian, European and international level. The Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP), in particular its Division of Biosafety and Biotechnology (SBB), has played a key role in the implementation of biosafety over the past 20 years, as a pioneering body in the early days and then as a permanent centre of expertise for the Belgian authorities and the Biosafety Advisory Council. It is this expertise and experience that the SBB is sharing in a book which was published in December 2010. This book retraces, through a historical overview and detailed facts and figures, the story of 20 years of biosafety in Belgium in its evolutionary context, showing how the implementation of a centralized system for the risk assessment of GMO and pathogens has enabled Belgium to develop highly valued, internationally recognized scientific expertise in this area. The book also presents some prospective thoughts about what could be the future methodology and substance of the scientific assessment of biological risks. This historical and descriptive part is completed with several witnesses from people who have been involved, or are still involved, in various ways in the field of biosafety in Belgium, showing how the expertise within the SBB has grown thanks to the permanent interaction and collaboration with partners from different fields.
The SBB – the ‘Division of Biosafety and Biotechnology’ of the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health, a permanent center of expertise for the Belgian authorities and the Biosafety Advisory Council, published a book about 20 years of biosafety in Belgium. In the list of persons who assist in producing the book you will recognize some familiar names e.g. Toon De Kesel (page 82).
