Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants Program Records

Information Systems for Biotechnology

The U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented the Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants Program in 1992. One percent of all USDA biotechnology expenditures is earmarked for risk assessment through this program.

Administrative Provisions; Rule

For information concerning the web version of the Proceedings, contact Doug King with Information Systems for Biotechnology, tel 540-231-3747, or email at isb@vt.edu. Web source: http://www.isb.vt.edu

Explanation of Documents

The 1990 Farm Bill required the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a competitive grants program in biotechnology risk assessment research to provide a better scientific basis for regulatory decision making. To collect required information for the development of risk assessment protocols and to understand the risks associated with the release of transgenic organisms into the environment, the USDA initiated the Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Awards Program in 1992.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated a similar risk assessment program in 1993. This program was called Risk Assessment of Environmental Releases of Biotechnology Products-Research Issues. The focus of the program was less on agricultural applications and more on ecology of transgenic organisms and on the development of protocols for risk assessment. Funding for this program has since been discontinued.

Environment Canada in cooperation with AFAG Canada (Agriculture and Food) has supported a variety of projects to work cooperatively with the USEPA and other federal U.S. agencies. Many of the projects supported by AFAG Canada and Environment Canada have focused upon the collection of data that can be used in the risk assessment process.

Summaries of Awarded Grants
Recipients of grants funded through USDA programs are required to file a Current Research Information System report as a condition of accepting the grant award. The CRIS reports for all past awards under the Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants Program are provided here. Since CRIS reports are not yet available for the most recent year's awards, abstracts from awarded proposals are provided instead.

Proceedings and Research Papers
From 1994 to 1996, grant recipients of these programs (USDA, USEPA, Environment Canada and AFAG Canada) presented papers of their research projects. The annual Proceedings and papers from these meetings, initially published in printed form, are also presented here. Not all studies supported by these agencies are presented since 1) some projects had not yet collected adequate information for a full presentation; and 2) many projects are multi-year studies. USDA-funded projects could be represented both by a CRIS report and a paper.

Much of the explanatory text is excerpted from M.A. Levin and J.S. Angle, "Biotechnology Risk Assessment: USEPA/USDA/Environmental Canada/AFAG Canada", from the 1994 Proceedings.