Jeonnam Nonggwanwon, Certified for the Third Consecutive Time as an 'Excellent Safety Management Laboratory'

Efforts Including Hazard Improvement and Emergency Response Training

The Jeonnam Branch of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service has achieved the first-ever triple consecutive re-certification among national institutions in the '2024 Safety Management Excellent Research Lab Certification Program' organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
[Photo by Jeonnam Branch of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service]

The Jeonnam Branch of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (hereinafter Jeonnam NAQS) announced on the 7th that it has passed the evaluation of the ‘2024 Excellent Safety Management Laboratory Certification Program’ hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT (hereinafter MSIT), becoming the first national institution to achieve the ‘re-certification’ three consecutive times.

The ‘Excellent Safety Management Laboratory Certification Program’ has been implemented by MSIT since 2013 to strengthen the safety management capabilities of laboratories in universities and research institutions in the field of science and technology, and to discover and spread standard models of safety management.

The certification evaluation for excellent safety management laboratories assesses 27 items including laboratory safety environment systems, activity levels, and safety awareness of related personnel. Laboratories with outstanding safety management levels and activities are selected and granted certification (valid for 2 years).

This year, the Jeonnam NAQS laboratories that obtained re-certification for excellent safety management are the Central Pretreatment Laboratory and the Instrumental Analysis Laboratory, which conduct residual pesticide analysis of agricultural products. To maintain continuous certification, they have made efforts to ensure the safety of research personnel through regular safety inspections, identification and improvement of hazardous and risky factors, and emergency response drills tailored to the characteristics of the laboratories.

Jeonnam NAQS was also recognized for its contribution to spreading the excellent safety management certification program and promoting laboratory safety culture by being selected as an ‘Excellent Laboratory Certification Program Visiting Institution’ for two consecutive years. Last year, it received the ‘Minister of Science and ICT Commendation’ for laboratory safety merit, the first such award for a national institution.

Bang Dohyeok, head of Jeonnam NAQS, said, “Achieving the third consecutive re-certification for excellent safety management laboratories is the result of our staff actively building their safety management capabilities. We will continue to strive to create a safe laboratory environment and contribute to spreading laboratory safety culture.”