Newsletter series – Overview of committees and advisory bodies

In upcoming newsletters, we would like to provide you with a step-by-step overview of the ministry advisory bodies, as well as commissions and committees whose work can influence everyday laboratory life. In keeping with the alphabetical order, we begin the series with an overview of the activities of the ABAS. Subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS), the Committee for Biological Agents (ABAS) has been acting in an advisory capacity since 1995. This classification alone indicates that ABAS focuses primarily on occupational safety issues. ABAS's advisory services primarily cover the regulations in the Biological Agents Ordinance. Therefore, the committee's precise area of ​​activity is described in more detail in Section 19 of the Biological Agents Ordinance. According to this, ABAS monitors "the state of the art in science, technology, occupational medicine, and occupational hygiene" (cf. Section 19, Paragraph 3, Section 1 of the Biological Agents Ordinance) for activities involving biological agents, conducts scientific assessments of biological agents, proposes their classification into risk groups, and generally advises the BMAS on biological safety issues. The committee includes representatives of employers, employees, state authorities, statutory accident insurance providers, and representatives from the scientific community. Another important task of ABAS is to specify the requirements set out in the Biological Agents Ordinance. This includes ABAS continuously updating and reviewing the so-called Technical Rules for Biological Agents (TRBA). This rule is also of great importance in everyday laboratory practice. The committee generally meets twice a year and is reconvened every four years. Issues of longer-term significance are developed and discussed in subcommittees and expert groups.