The role of The National Register of Biological Agents in health protection of employees exposed to biological agents used intentionally at work in Poland.

OBJECTIVES

This communication is aimed at outlining the role of the National Register of Biological Agents (NRoBA) in the system of working conditions supervision in Poland.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The paper was prepared based on a review of Polish legislation related to employee health protection, as well as scientific literature and recommendations of expert organizations regarding the intentional use of biological agents.

RESULTS

Polish law obliges employers to protect the health and safety of employees occupationally exposed to harmful agents. The State Sanitary Inspection and the State Labor Inspection supervise the employer's fulfillment of these obligations. Occupational exposure to biological agents may result from their intentional use (e.g., in the biotechnology industry or a scientific laboratory) or be related to their unintentional presence (e.g., in healthcare, sewage treatment plants, municipal waste management plants). Making a distinction between these 2 types of exposure is important for employers in relation to their legal obligations. In the case of using harmful biological agents for scientific, industrial or diagnostic purposes, the employer is obliged to notify the State Sanitary Inspection. Such notifications from employers are gathered in the NRoBA. Its aim is to support hygiene supervision over the intentional use of biological agents and to increase the employer's attention to the protection of the health of employees exposed to these agents. The International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2023 published , in which it recommended increasing the capacity for epidemiological surveillance by creating networks or dedicated websites to collect and analyze adverse events in employees of research and development laboratories. The NRoBA complies with these guidelines but in order to use it in epidemiological studies, it should be re-digitalized to extend the range of collected data.

CONCLUSIONS

The NRoBA in its present form has been used in Poland for almost 2 decades. Now it is time for re-digitalization to ensure its full compliance with the ILO recommendations and to use it in epidemiological studies. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2025;38(1):91-97.