Incidents

Incidents in relation to GMOs include, either intentional or accidental:

• breaches of containment and/or release of GMOs
• non-compliance with OGTR Guidelines
• non-compliance with institutional requirements

Your efficient and effective response to an incident is vital. All incidents must be reported.

All personnel working with GMOs should be familiar with the protocols in place for their area with regard to dealing with and reporting incidents and for emergency responses.

It is impossible to produce a contingency plan that would deal with all possible incidents or emergency scenarios. Thus, in the event of an incident or emergency involving GMOs:

• alert the Facility Manager
• alert other relevant personnel - principal investigator, your supervisor, Head of School, Security, Emergency Services, etc
• consult the area safety manuals, standard operating procedures or 'emergency plan' and where appropriate, take emergency action(s) to contain the risk
• report the incident to your local Biosafety Officer
• submit appropriate accident or incident reports as may be required
• report the incident to the IBC and notify any other authorities as may be required (eg. AQIS, TGA)

All personnel that deal with GMOs should be familiar with the area safety manuals, standard operating procedures and emergency plan and the protocols for an emergency response. These reference documents should be reviewed regularly and updated as required, particularly when new/different GMOs are introduced to an area. Facility Managers should ensure that all personnel are aware of and have access to the relevant documentation.

Areas should ensure that emergency contact numbers (eg. Facility Manager, Principal Investigators) are easily identifiable to all personnel entering a facility and that appropriate 'after hours' emergency contact details are also included.

Emergency spills with GMOs
University OH&S Reporting Accidents and Incidents
University Emergency Management web site