Safe biotechnology 9: values in risk assessment for the environmental application of microorganisms

Risk assessment for the deliberate release of microorganisms into the envir onment is traditionally carried out on a case-by-case basis. In a similar a pproach to that used when assessing human pathogenicity, we propose an alte rnative approach by introducing risk classes to facilitate or complement th is type of risk assessment. These consider several sets of scenarios that a ddress the different values that need to be protected. Examples of this app roach include risk-class definitions for soil fertility and biodiversity.