Biosafety status of testing laboratories in Hangzhou from 2018 to 2023

Objective To analyze the current status of biosafety laboratory management in testing institutions in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province from 2018 to 2023, identify weak points in management, and propose strategies to enhance the laboratory biosafety management.

Methods A retrospective analysis was performed to evaluate the on-site biosafety assessment data from laboratories of the testing institutions in Hangzhou from 2018 to 2023.

Results From 2018 to 2023, a total of 125 institutions were inspected. The biosafety indicator compliance rates varied across different years (χ² = 27.409, P < 0.001). Among the indicators, labeling usage and management had the lowest compliance rate of 63.20%. In addition, significant differences were also found across years in terms of organizational management, facility and equipment, experimental waste management, and labeling usage and management (χ² = 24.312, 24.417, 21.098, and 16.614, respectively, all P < 0.05). Furthermore, the distribution of laboratory biosafety assessment scores altered across different years (H = 89.843, P < 0.001).

Conclusions Hangzhou has made continuous progress and demonstrated a high level in the laboratory biosafety management of testing institutions. However, there are still notable deficiencies in areas such as laboratory waste management, the use of labels, and organizational management.