Risk and Safety Working Group

RSWG Risk and safety working group (GIF methodology)... 

Guo JJ, Pandey S, Doyle J, Bian B, Lis Y, Raisch DW. A review of quantitative risk-benefit methodologies for assessing drug safety and efficacy—Report of the ISPOR risk-benefit management working group. Value Health August 2010 13(5) 657-666. 

After the initial risk categorization, the next step in the risk assessment process is the systematic identification of hazards associated with the project. Hazard discovery is the responsibility of all members of the system safety working group and others associated with the project. Other risk management responsibilities are dependent on the level of the risk, with decisions involving more significant risks reserved for senior commanders or managers. 

In the EU until 2003, the European Commission s Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) performed safety evaluations of food additives and contaminants. This task has now been taken over by the EFSA. EFSA s risk assessments and other scientific work are undertaken by its Scientific Committee and nine scientific Panels, each responsible for a different aspect of food and feed safety. The scientific work is also supported by external Scientific Expert Working Groups, each specializing in a specific subject (EFSA 2006). 

European Food Safety Authority. 2006. Opinion of the scientific panel on plant protection products and their residues on a request from EFSA on the final report of the FOCUS Working Group on Landscape and Mitigation Factors in Ecological Risk Assessment. EFSA J 437 1-30. http //www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa locale-1178620753812 home.htm (accessed December 28, 2007). 

It is imperative students learn to work safely in the laboratory so every experiment group highlights any necessary safety precautions. Chemicals are selected to minimize risk and students are expected to discuss their experimental design with the instructor to be sure it is appropriate and safe. 

T.S.S. Dikshith is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Task Group on Environmental Health Criteria Documents and the International Program on Chemical Safety and has worked in several laboratories in the United States, France, Germany, and Canada. By following the guidelines established in this text, those who work with chemical substances are able to minimize the risk of disaster and protect themselves... 

Differences in criteria and methods of assessment of the characteristics and properties of herbal products may represent a risk for consumers and an obstacle to their free circulation within the Community. Therefore, in 1997, an ad hoc working group was established at the EMEA, which was tasked with addressing the problems of demonstration of quality, safety and efficacy. Subsequently the group became a permanent Working Party of the CPMP and developed a set of guidelines on the requirements and assessment of herbal medicines. 

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