According to the HPTA, any individual working or having access to prescribed human pathogens and toxins or Security Sensitive Biological Agents (SSBAs) must have an HPTA Security Clearance.
An H
PTA Security Clearance is conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on behalf of the PHAC and is not the same as a general security clearance issued by the Government of Canada.
The increased biosecurity risks associated with SSBAs necessitates additional biosecurity measures; the purpose of the HPTA Security Clearance is to ensure that those who have access to and/or handle SSBAs do not pose a risk to Canada’s national security.
SSBAs
Security sensitive biological agents, or SSBAs, are a subset of Risk Group 3 and 4 human pathogens and prescribed toxins that are included in Schedule 1 of the Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations (HPTR).
Examples of these organisms are:
- Virus: Ebola virus, SARS coronavirus, Smallpox virus
- Bacteria: Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tulariensis, Yersinia pestis
- Fungus: Coccidioides immitis
- Toxins: Shigatoxin (1mg), Verotoxin (1mg), Cholera toxin (20mg)
A complete list of SBBAs is available online
Situations where an HPTA Security Clearance is required
- Access to the part of a facility where controlled activities with SSBAs are authorized and actively taking place
- Access to SSBA storage
- Opening a SSBA package
Situations where an HPTA Security Clearance is NOT required
- Access to the part of a facility where controlled activities with SSBAs are authorized when SSBAs are locked away and inaccessible, while under supervision by a holder of a valid HPTA Security Clearance.
- Working with an SSBA toxin that falls below the trigger quantity.
- Working with a human pathogen of a given risk group that has been attenuated to such an extent that it no longer meets the risk profile of that risk group.
- Transportation of SSBA to another location, from the time it is packaged until the package is opened by the intended recipient.
