World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC)

1. The WFCC supports the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972 (BWC) that prohibits the development, possession, and use of biological weapons.

2. To the knowledge of the WFCC no culture collection of its membership is involved in active research on biological weapons. It is not the policy of the WFCC to influence the range of biological resources maintained and to interfere with research activities of member collections.

3. The control of access to organisms lies with the country in which the collection is based. The national governments are the enforcers of international and national legislation. The WFCC urges its members to strictly follow all national and international legislations concerning distribution of sensitive materials to third parties.

The World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) is a Federation of the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) and a commission of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) with responsibility for the promotion and development of collections of cultures of microorganisms and cultured cells. As such, it has an on-going concern with all aspects of culture collection activity.

Legislation and procedures for the control of access to dangerous organisms is in place nationally and internationally. The WFCC requires its members to adopt best practice in performing their role in the conservation and utilisation of biodiversity, in compliance with such legislation.

The WFCC has produced guidelines for its members (Guidelines for the Establishment and Operation of Collections of Cultures of Microorganisms, 1st edition 1990, 2nd edition 1999) available via the World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM) web site (http://wdcm.nig.ac.jp/). Paragraph 16.2 under the section Safety and Quality Standards states "Particular attention needs to be given to the containment and security aspects of strains which are potentially harmful to man, animals or crops."

The WFCC attempts to keep its members aware of national and international legislation with respect to culture collections. Its Committee on Postal, Quarantine and Safety Regulations recommended increased vigilance with respect to dangerous pathogens in its 1996 report (available on the WFCC pages of the WDCM website: http://wdcm.nig.ac.jp/). Organisms listed in the World Data Centre for Microorganisms (WDCM) are made available subject to the provision of relevant permits and licenses and released only to bona fide users in compliance with national and international legislation and conventions.

• Prevention of Proliferation of Dangerous Microorganisms - The ECCO Principles
• The convention on provention of proliferation of biological weapons
• Safety legislation regarding biological agents
  
  

Biosafety sites