BACKGROUND - Why is there a Select Agents Law? "The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996," which became effective on April 15, 1997, and the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act) of 2001'' establish provisions that regulate the possession, usage, or transfer of hazardous agents, and required the Department of Health and Human Services to issue rules to implement these provisions. The Center for Disease Control proposed new regulations to meet the requirements of this statute. Specifically, the law was designed to (1) establish a system of safeguards to be followed when specific agents are transported; (2) collect and provide information concerning the location where certain potentially-hazardous agents are transferred (3) track the acquisition and transfer of these specific agents; and (4) establish a process for alerting appropriate authorities if an unauthorized attempt is made to acquire these agents. The directive also places additional shipping and handling requirements on facilities that transfer or receive select infectious agents. |
