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how many amazing changes have taken place in the world since mankind entered the 21th century. While people are delighted with the rapid development of science and technology, they have experienced better uneasiness and even disasters. In addition to the panic caused by the development of high technology, especially biotechnology, war and disease seem to directly bring mankind to the gate of hell.

The epidemic of SARS in p>2113, including all the speculations about SARS, is directly related to the global issue that people are increasingly concerned about: biosafety. Biosafety is a scientific and technological system for the detection, evaluation, monitoring, prevention and treatment of biological hazards. It is a new frontier discipline that studies the impact of various biological factors on human health and applies existing theoretical knowledge, technology, engineering design and equipment to prevent people engaged in related work, laboratories and the environment from being harmed by potentially infectious substances and biological toxic substances. Biosafety problems are at least manifested in the following aspects:

Great harm of infectious diseases

Infectious diseases include human, animal and plant infectious diseases, especially human infectious diseases are the most important biosafety problems, and infectious diseases are still the first cause of death in the world. In China, infectious diseases still seriously threaten people's health and national security. The prevalence of SARS is a strong proof. In addition, infectious diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis and influenza are still prevalent or erupting in some parts of the country and some countries and regions in the world every year

The potential threat of biological weapons and bioterrorism

In the 21th century, the whole international community made unremitting efforts to ban biological weapons and made some progress. However, in the 21th century, the potential threat of biological weapons has greatly increased, and some countries and regions may continue to research and develop biological weapons. In addition, the rapid development of biotechnology has greatly increased the potential threat of biological weapons, and the bioterrorism marked by the "anthrax incident" in the United States has posed a real threat to international security. Yuan Guoyong, head of the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, was the first scholar to isolate coronavirus and found that coronavirus variant was the pathogen of SARS. SARS virus belongs to RNA virus, and the characteristic of this virus is that it is easy to recombine with other virus genes and then become a new virus. Moreover, many experimental results also show that the new virus produced in this way will be more toxic than the parent virus. Coronavirus can be found in many animals, and this virus is prone to mutation and extremely dangerous. Therefore, Yuan Guoyong believes that SARS virus has great potential to become the pathogen of making chemical and biological weapons except smallpox.

negative effects of biotechnology

the negative effects of biotechnology are mainly manifested as follows: first, when people develop and utilize biotechnology, unexpected security problems may occur. Just as the harm to biodiversity caused by the environmental release of various genetically modified living organisms is widely concerned at present. In addition, genetically engineered drugs, vaccines, genetically modified foods, gene therapy, etc. may have similar problems. The misuse and unethical application of biotechnology may also bring great security risks. The research of somatic cell cloning is a prominent example.

threats to biological resources and biodiversity

from the perspective of biosafety, the invasion of alien species and the loss of biological resources may cause great damage to national interests. The environmental release of genetically modified organisms poses a great threat to biodiversity.

Safety hazards of microbiology laboratory

Compared with other physical and chemical laboratories or other laboratories, microbiology and biomedical laboratory is a special laboratory, and everyone who works in it and the surrounding environment in contact with it are at high risk of contracting infectious diseases or affecting health. Omissions and accidents in the management of microbiology laboratory can not only lead to the infection of laboratory staff, but also cause environmental pollution and large-scale population infection. Accidents of accidental infection in laboratories at home and abroad are not uncommon. In severe cases, thousands of experimental animals have to be slaughtered, even leading to the death of laboratory staff.

At present, with the rapid development of biotechnology, biosafety has become a big proposition that affects the politics, economy, security and peace of the whole country and the whole world. In recent years, especially after the "anthrax infection incident" in the United States, biosafety issues have attracted much attention at home and abroad, and biosafety terms are often seen in government or non-governmental organization documents and in various media. The global epidemic of SARS will undoubtedly make countries all over the world pay more attention to biosafety and regard it as an integral part of national security.

With the development of economy, the accelerated pace of people's life and the improvement of living standards, the amount of plastics is increasing day by day. In 1996, the consumption of plastic packaging in China reached 2.43 million tons, with an average annual growth rate of more than < P > 21%, especially in the garbage of cities, major traffic routes and tourist attractions.

According to the survey, the annual output of domestic waste in Beijing has reached 3 million tons, of which waste plastics account for about 3%, with an annual growth rate of

48%. The plastic content of garbage in coastal cities is higher, reaching 8-11%. The waste

plastics account for more than one-third of the garbage by volume, which greatly increases the difficulty and cost of

garbage disposal.

Because waste plastics are difficult to degrade for hundreds of years, if discarded in the natural environment, it will provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes, flies and

bacteria. If buried underground, it will easily pollute groundwater, hinder the growth of plant root system, destroy soil quality and affect crop harvest; If it is incinerated by fire, a variety of poisonous gases < P > will be produced. "White pollution" has become a major public hazard that harms China's social environment and seriously hinders the sustainable development of China's economy and environment.

At present, the annual consumption of disposable tableware in China is about 11 billion, mainly foamed plastic products. To stop the production, sale and use of these large-scale disposable foamed plastic tableware, it is necessary to develop and produce its substitute products, and green disposable tableware has emerged as the times require. Experts believe that the development and production of green disposable tableware is becoming a new environmental protection industry in China.

In mid-February, the Ministry of Science and Technology, together with the State Economic and Trade Commission, the State Environmental Protection Administration and the Ministry of Railways, jointly held an exchange meeting on the development of green tableware technology. At the meeting, the reporter interviewed Wang Zhixue, the head of China Rural Technology Development Center, and the managers of several production enterprises.

Wang Zhi said: At present, the green disposable tableware developed and produced in China can be divided into paper pulp, rice husk, straw and starch according to the types of raw materials. At present, hundreds of enterprises in China produce paper disposable tableware, with an annual production capacity of about 3 billion pieces.

The raw materials of paper tableware are seriously polluted in the production process, with high cost and poor strength, water resistance and moisture resistance

. Therefore, its popularization and application have great limitations, and people naturally look to other places for benefits from science and technology. If rice husk is used as raw material to produce rice husk tableware, there are now more than a dozen enterprises of this type in China, with an annual production capacity of about 51 million; Straw tableware is mainly made of crop straw < P >. At present, there are more than a dozen manufacturers in China, with an annual production capacity of 75 million. Starch tableware takes potato starch as the main raw material, which has good biodegradability and can be used as feed after recycling. In a word, the state attaches great importance to the research and development of green disposable tableware, and gives strong support through scientific and technological development plans such as tackling key problems, Spark Plan and Torch Plan. The production technology of green disposable tableware in many enterprises is relatively mature, which has laid a foundation for industrialization.

Wuhan Far East Green World Group Co., Ltd. is a company that takes starch as raw material, carries out scientific research and development of green disposable tableware, and its economic benefits are beginning to take shape. Su Xiaohai, the president of this company, has a legendary experience:

He studied arts and crafts in Hubei Institute of Light Industry, and went to Wuhan University in 1984 for a master's degree in philosophy, and then studied and worked in Germany. The environmental protection in Europe touched him greatly, and he had the idea of going back to China to engage in environmental protection industry. Su Xiaohai told reporters: I have studied arts and crafts, and I am an aesthete. Today, I devoted myself to environmental protection such as green tableware, which originated from my initial understanding of beauty. The extension of aesthetics is, in the final analysis, a kind of philosophy.

From 1992 to 1996, the production scale of recycled cardboard disposable tableware and reed pulp molded tableware developed by Far East Green World Company has not been expanded due to low scientific and technological content. In 1996, the company sent personnel to inspect the technical situation of biodegradable packaging products in the European market, and thought that developing vegetable starch to produce fully degradable disposable tableware products might be a way to eliminate "white pollution". In 1997, it was composed of a group of experts in food, chemistry and machinery. The company focused on the development of fully degradable disposable catering products, which was included in the national torch plan in 1997.

They absorbed foreign advanced technology and made a series of innovations in combination with the domestic production technology of paper tableware: Li

used the starch rich in domestic resources, such as sweet potato and corn, as the main raw materials, instead of the single foreign potato starch with higher price

; 21% natural fiber is added to the raw material of sweet potato starch, so that the strength of tableware is obviously increased < P >, and then the product is light and soft by using the processing technology of food puffing; The equipment for surface spraying < P > treatment and shaping is strengthened, so that the produced catering products have waterproof, oil-proof and heat-resistant functions. Su Xiao

Hai made a vivid metaphor: it is just like reinforced cement in building materials, sweet potato starch is the cement, and

the roots of all kinds of hay and plants that are chopped and stirred are the steel bars, so that the strength of tableware can be obviously

enhanced.

The tableware products made from starch produced by Far East Green World were tested by SGS in Germany with reference to international food

packaging standards. The tableware products kept in hot water and hot oil at 111 degrees Celsius for more than two hours did not deform at all, and the temperature-keeping performance was excellent. Because starch and additives are natural plant raw materials, the product has excellent degradation performance. According to the test of National Environmental Testing Center, it can be degraded by more than 91% in about 11 days, and can be completely degraded within one month.

According to the introduction, because the project uses plant starch and plant fiber, the cost is relatively low, and the cost of each covered rice box is about 1.12 yuan, and the cost of uncovered lunch boxes, bowls and plates is about 1.17 yuan, which has broad market prospects.

At present, Far East Green World Company plans to invest 611 million yuan to build a large-scale fully degradable green disposable tableware production base with an annual output of 5 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks and 3.5 billion bowls, plates, boxes and other products. After the project is put into production, the annual output value can be

625 million yuan, and the new profit and tax will be about 311 million yuan. The civil engineering of the base started in March this year, and

a standard factory building of 21,111 square meters has been built. If the follow-up funds can be guaranteed, it is expected to reach the production by the end of 1999.

Su Xiaohai said: Our scientific and technological advantages are obvious, and the social benefits that can be created in the future are also obvious: disposable sanitary chopsticks made of starch

can completely replace disposable wooden chopsticks, that is, every year < If the Group can reach its production capacity, it is estimated that it will use more than 211,111 tons of sweet potatoes every year and process them into more than one million tons of starch raw materials, which will also lift more than one million people out of poverty and promote the development of agricultural industrialization in the old areas.

Shantou Heng Lv Industrial Co., Ltd. began to develop green disposable tableware made of rice husk in previous years, and before that, it also had the ability of industrial scale production. The disposable packaging containers made of rice husk produced by the company, especially the food packaging utensils used in supermarkets, have started trial sales in Japan, Taiwan Province, the United States and other places.

The green disposable tableware produced by Heng Lv Company is made by crushing and sieving rice husk, adding water to several edible organic polymer adhesives, and then stamping, drying, spraying and other processes to produce different shapes of

plates, bowls and other utensils.

Ji Xiaopeng, general manager of Heng Lv Enterprise Co., Ltd. said: Disposable tableware is made of rice husk, which is not only abundant in our state-owned assets, but also can be quickly degraded in the soil after use, killing two birds with one stone.

at present, Heng Lv company has a production line in operation, with an investment of about 9.8 million yuan and a production capacity of 411,111

tableware/day, and now it reaches 211,111 tableware/day. The annual output value is about 36 million yuan, the expected payback period is about

one and a half years, and the investment profit is about 31%. The production technology and product quality have passed the

technical appraisal organized by Guangdong Science and Technology Commission and the inspection of food hygiene department. According to reports, the company plans to set up a group company in the near future in order to better market its products and regulate the operation of < P > mode, and to invest in technical transformation in order to make the production of < P > line more automatic.

According to the introduction of the green tableware technology development exchange meeting hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, on July 8, 1998, Vice Premier Wen Jiabao specifically proposed to solve the "white pollution" along the Yangtze River, Taihu Lake and

railway within one year at the Taihu Lake Basin water pollution prevention work conference, and asked the relevant departments in the State Council to focus on three tasks: first, strengthen management,

prohibit littering; Second, stop using disposable foamed plastic tableware; Third, develop and mass-produce substitute products as soon as possible. On 11-14, Vice Premier Li Lanqing also

raised the issue of popularization and application of foamed plastic tableware substitutes at the 12nd National patriotic health campaign committee Working Conference. It seems that the green disposable tableware has attracted great attention from the leaders of the Central Committee, science and technology, environmental protection and other relevant departments. As a new environmental protection industry, it can be said that it was born at the right time. Now, we need both scientific and technological personnel who can climb the scientific peak to continue to tackle key problems and develop, entrepreneurs who know how to operate and manage well to increase technological innovation and market development, and us.

Most of the enterprises engaged in the development and industrialization of green disposable tableware in China are small in production scale at present, and their ability to resist the wind and waves is weak, and many of them are private enterprises, which need the government departments to give enough support and guidance on industrial policies, so that this emerging green environmental protection industry can develop healthily and continuously.