GM Ref. : __/__
Newcastle University
Microbiological Hazards and Genetic Modification Safety Advisory
Sub-Committee
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c
Proposal and Risk Assessment for Categorisation of a Procedure Involving Work
with Genetically Modified Plant Viruses
Please complete the form by computer and send it as an email attachment in rtf format to your School GM Chair. The principal
investigator and School GM Chair should sign the declaration page of the electronic copy of the form. After review and approval,
the School GM Chair will send the form as an email attachment in rtf format to the University Biological Safety Officer. Please
Note: Principal investigators must send all GM risk assessment forms to the School GM Chair and not to the University Biological
Safety Officer. Guidance on completing this form is provided in the GM Risk Assessment section of the University Safety Office
website.
Title of project
Principal investigator
School
Date of application
Location of work
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
dd/mm/yyyy
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
(Building & Room. No.)
Summary Details
(Delete or enter Not Applicable (N/A) where appropriate)
1/2/3
GM activity Class
Connected programme?
Yes / No
(Class 2 or above)
Likely completion date
mm/yyyy
If Yes, and not Parent, give
Parent GM Ref.
Page 1 of 7
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c GM Risk Assessment
Version: 4
Owner: SJD
Date of creation: 04/2015
Review Date: 04/2020
GM Ref. : __/__
Section 1 Personnel
1.1:
Briefly indicate your experience of working with microorganisms and genetically modified
organisms and any training you have received
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
1.2.1: Other workers on the
project (if known)
1.2.2: Qualifications
1.2.3: Experience / Training
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Page 2 of 7
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c GM Risk Assessment
Version: 4
Owner: SJD
Date of creation: 04/2015
Review Date: 04/2020
GM Ref. : __/__
Section 2 Project
2.1:
Description of the project, including the methods to be used and the purpose of the genetic
modification
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
2.2:
Will you cultivate on a large scale (eg 10 or more litres per culture)
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
2.3:
Host organism
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
2.4:
Vector system
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
2.5:
Origins, nature of modification(s), and intended function of the genetic material involved
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Page 3 of 7
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c GM Risk Assessment
Version: 4
Owner: SJD
Date of creation: 04/2015
Review Date: 04/2020
GM Ref. : __/__
Section 3 Risk Assessment
NB : This section should include sufficient detail to support the justifications for any assessments made. Particular care should be
taken to the assessment of work with viruses that infect plants indigenous to the UK
Level of risk may be estimated using the matrix given at the end of this form.
3A Assessment for Environmental Harm
3A.1: Characteristics of host virus or viral vector and any hazard associated with it
3A.1.1: Is the viral vector disabled
3A.1.2: If Yes, how
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.1.3: Describe the origin of the virus, the mechanism of attenuation, and its stability in both the
parent viral vector and the recombinant vector
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.1.4: Indicate the probability of reversion to the wild type
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Yes / No
Yes / No
3A.1.5: Is the viral vector replication competent
3A.1.6: Are all potential routes of transmission of the virus known, eg those that may
occur during a laboratory accident
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
If Yes, will the routes of transmission deliver the virus or its products to tissues where it may be
biologically active ?
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Yes / No
Yes / No
3A.1.7: Is there potential for the transmission of naked nucleic acid ?
Level of risk
[ENTER HERE]
3A.2: Source and characteristics of the inserted gene product and any hazards arising directly from
its use
3A.2.1: Describe the nature of the inserted genes and the properties of the final genetically modified
viral vector
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Yes / No
3A.2.2: Does the insert code for a protein with known or suspected pathological effect
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.2.3: Is there reason to suspect that the tissue tropism or host range of the recombinant
virus will be any different from that of the parent vector or virus
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Level of risk
[ENTER HERE]
3A.3: Hazards arising from the alteration of existing pathogenic traits
3A.3.1: Is there reason to suspect that the tissue tropism or host range of the recombinant
virus will be any different from that of the parent vector or virus
3A.3.2: Is there reason to suspect that the modified virus may have altered susceptibility
to host defence mechanisms
3A.3.3: Could the route of transmission of the recombinant virus be altered
Yes / No
Yes / No
Yes / No
If so, what are the predicted effects of the recombinant viruses in tissue which it would not normally infect ?
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Level of risk
[ENTER HERE]
3A.4: What is the capacity of the GMM to survive, establish, disseminate with and or displace other
organisms
Yes / No
3A.4.1: Is there reason to suspect that the recombinant virus may have enhanced
environmental survival factors: eg enhanced tolerance to UV, temperature,
Page 4 of 7
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c GM Risk Assessment
Version: 4
Owner: SJD
Date of creation: 04/2015
Review Date: 04/2020
GM Ref. : __/__
desiccation etc
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.4.2: Are all potential routes of transmission or escape of the virus to the environment
known eg following a laboratory accident
Yes / No
If Yes, will the recombinant virus or its products gain access to organisms in which effects may be
manifested
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Yes / No
3A.4.3: Will the gene insertion affect the fitness of the virus
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.4.4: Is there a potential for transmission in the form of infectious nucleic acid
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.4.5: What is the ease by which mechanical transmission of the recombinant virus may occur
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Level of risk
[ENTER HERE]
3A.5: What is the potential for transfer of genetic material between the GMM and other organisms
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Level of risk
[ENTER HERE]
3A.6: What is the likelihood that the GMM could cause harm in the event of environmental exposure
Yes / No
3A.6.1: Is the host pathogenic
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.6.2: Does the insert code for a protein with known or suspected inhibitory,
detrimental, or other physiologically active effect on any organisms
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.6.3: Is there a potential for harmful effects of gene expression on other organisms
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
3A.6.4: Will viral susceptibility to control agents be affected by genetic modification
Yes / No
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Level of risk
[ENTER HERE]
Assign the provisional containment level: (delete as appropriate)
1/2/3
3B Risks to Human Health
3B.1: What is the likelihood that, in the event of exposure, the GM Virus could cause harm to human
health
eg By production of toxins, allergens, pharmacologically or immunologically active substances.
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Level of risk
[ENTER HERE]
3C Final Activity Class
Assign the final activity Class: (delete as appropriate)
1/2/3
Page 5 of 7
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c GM Risk Assessment
Version: 4
Owner: SJD
Date of creation: 04/2015
Review Date: 04/2020
GM Ref. : __/__
Section 4 Control Measures to be Used
4:
Provide details of the control measures to be used to protect human health and the environment
and the means by which their use and effectiveness will be monitored. This must include details
of the inactivation procedures to be employed for waste contaminated with GMM, the expected
degree of kill and any appropriate validation procedures
4.1:
Containment level
1/2/3
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
4.2:
Controls
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
4.3:
Inactivation of genetically modified organisms
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
All contaminated materials, including waste destined for incineration, will be inactivated by autoclaving (100% kill) prior to
disposal of waste or cleaning and recycling of reusable laboratory equipment, such as glassware. Autoclaves will be validated by
annual thermocouple mapping and each run will be monitored by continuous chart (or digital) recording of the temperature/time
profile.
OR
All contaminated materials, including waste destined for incineration, will be inactivated by autoclaving (100% kill) prior to
disposal of waste or cleaning and recycling of reusable laboratory equipment, such as glassware. Autoclaves will be validated by
annual thermocouple mapping and each run will be monitored using TST (Time, Steam, and Temperature) test strips (Albert
Browne Ltd., TST class 6 emulating indicator 121ºC for 20 min).
Section 5 Emergency Planning
5:
Are there risks to human health and safety or to the environment that require an
emergency plan for action in case of accidental release
Yes / No
If Yes, provide full details of the plan
[ENTER DETAILS HERE]
Page 6 of 7
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c GM Risk Assessment
Version: 4
Owner: SJD
Date of creation: 04/2015
Review Date: 04/2020
GM Ref. : __/__
School Declaration and Approval Signatures
Title of project :
School :
I declare that this work will be conducted in accordance with University rules,
practices and requirements on GM procedures, and that if at any stage there is
any indication that hazards and/or risks could be significantly higher than
originally assessed, then the work will cease until such time the risk assessment
has been revised, and approval granted from the School and/or University GM
Safety Committee as appropriate.
Declaration :
Principal investigator :
As the principal investigator for this GM project you have a legal responsibility to ensure that all those involved/working on the
project have an appropriate level of training and expertise to enable safe working. This includes ensuring that they read and
understand this risk assessment, and that all procedures they undertake, including the control measures, are in strict accordance
with those approved for the project. To ensure the latter you are advised to check for compliance with procedures from time to
time, and make an appropriate record to be kept as part of the project file.
Sign and date
I declare that this risk assessment has been scrutinised and approved by the
School GM Safety Committee.
To be signed by the School GM Chair, or, in the event they are the principal
investigator, by another member of the School GM Safety Committee.
Chair / Other member
Declaration :
Note
Role (delete as appropriate)
Print name
Sign and date
Risk Estimation Matrix
Severity of harm
Severe
Moderate
Minor
Negligible
Likelihood of harm
High
Medium
Low
Negligible
High
High
Medium/low
Effectively zero
Medium
Medium/low
Low
Effectively zero
Effectively zero
Effectively zero
Effectively zero
Effectively zero
High
Medium
Low
Effectively zero
Page 7 of 7
OHSS: H&S Form 302.1c GM Risk Assessment
Version: 4
Owner: SJD
Date of creation: 04/2015
Review Date: 04/2020