Austin IBC - Emergencies involving GMOs and Incident Reporting

Any incident involving GMOs, especially unintentional release of a GMO into the environment, must be reported to the OGTR, via the Austin IBC Secretariat (ph 9496 4090). Should an incident occur, please contact your Laboratory Manager as soon as the immediate hazard has been rendered safe, for advice on what to do next.

Additional advice can be obtained from the University of Melbourne Biosafety Officer:
Paul Taylor
Gene Technology and Biosafety Officer 
University of Melbourne   
Microbiology Building
Parkville  Victoria  3052

Ph: (03) 8344-2047
E-mail: pmt@unimelb.edu.au

In an emergency:

• Call OOO for Fire, Ambulance or Police Services

• Call Austin Health Emergency Services on 7777 for assistance

Procedure for cleaning a spill of a hazardous biological agent:

• based on procedure described in ANZS 2243.3.

1. If the spill involves potentially infectious biological agents, the area must be vacated for 30 minutes to allow aerosols formed during the spill to settle.
2. Establish a clean-up team of at least 2 people, preferably 3. One member of the team should act as a supervisor and ensure that other members are not inadvertently contaminating themselves.
3. Personal protective clothing appropriate for the agent that has been spilled should be worn during clean-up. This means at least a lab coat and gloves.
4. The spill should be covered with absorbent material (vermiculite if available, paper towels soaked in disinfectant will do otherwise). Surround the edges of the spill with paper to prevent it spreading further when disinfectant has been added.
5. Add disinfectant to the centre of the spill. Hypochlorite solution with a concentration of 1.0% available chlorine (10,000 ppm) is recommended for this procedure.
6. Allow the disinfectant to act by leaving it there for at least 15 minutes.
7. Carefully mop up the spillage and disinfectant solution and transfer all contaminated objects and liquids to a waste container for contaminated material.
8. Be sure to wipe down other surfaces (for example, chairs, lab benches) where aerosols may have settled with the disinfectant solution.
9. Check yourself for contamination. Remove lab coats and gloves, and check boots/shoes for possible contamination. Clean as required.
10. Report the incident to your supervisor and, if the spill involved GMOs, to the Austin IBC Secretariat (ph 9496 4090).