Hi everyone (I hope I have included everyone involved in the Biology EEI if you feel I have
left anyone out contact me first before forwarding this on)
I have outlined below the conditions you must work within when working with pathogens. I
have contacted district office and this is what I have assessed according to their outline. If
you have any further questions please contact me directly. I have already spoken to Murray
and Michael about it they will only discuss this with me (with you present) from this time
onwards as I have already completed a risk assessment.
I expect that if these guidelines are followed we should have no more issues and if there is I
am the first person you contact and I will go to Murray and Janelle. I believe this will not
hinder the students EEIs and reduces the risk of any contamination.
Risk Assessment
Completed on OneSchool and awaiting approval from admin. (Have already spoken to
Michael and Murray)
What guidelines apply?
As a matter of good practice, DETE recommends schools defer to guidance in the Australian
Standards in lieu of published guidelines and the recommendations from district office which
I have considered and included below where applicable.


Can students swab from chicken and other surfaces to grow bacteria?
Students are advised NOT to swab from raw chicken.
Whenever samples are collected from food sources, there are risks associated with infection
from microorganisms that may be human pathogens. Accidental release of these organisms
can pose serious health consequences in a school environment. As such:
It is not appropriate to swab sources likely to pose a high risk of contamination by human
pathogens. Examples of such locations include any human or animal body fluids, carcasses,
diseased tissue (plant or animal), toilets, hand basins, door handles and computer
keyboards.
Swabs from food and food preparation surfaces may be taken, but must not be subcultured, and petri dishes should not be opened.
Can students test the 5 seconds rule?
Students may test the “5 second rule”, but there are a few health and safety considerations
that must be addressed:

It can only be undertaken after a risk assessment of the work has been conducted and it
has been demonstrated that any hazards are controlled.
1. The risk assessment is to consider:
A. the age group and their skill level (these are senior students who will be individually
spoken to to ensure they understand the risks and control of the risks.
B. the available facilities (autoclave, sealing of petrie dishes, refrigeration etc) and
equipment
C. the level of training and experience of the Teacher and the Science Officer with
the particular microorganisms proposed for the work (teachers have conducted
these experiments for years and familiar with the safety procedures and risks. The
SOO can opt not to participate beyond preparing the equipment and appropriate
agar plates if they feel that they is not experienced in that area)
D. where sampling might potentially occur (outlined in the students prac after being
approved by experienced staff)
E. the types of microorganisms involved (although we can not predict every organism
that may grow, the control measures we will put in place means there is almost no
chance of spillage)
F.
the processes and equipment to be used (outlined below)
G. safe handling requirements (teacher and student who is conducting the EEi are the
only people present when examining the samples and teacher (or SOO) only when
the samples are removed from incubator and sealed and bagged )
H. the suitability of containment equipment such as biological safety cabinets, for the
intended work
I.
requirements for the safe handling, decontamination and disposal of potentially
contaminated waste (autoclave and ‘bleach container’)
J.
any health considerations for staff and students (e.g. immune-compromised,
pregnancy – permission note from parents)
K. the capability to deal with a spill (once removed from incubation petrie dishes are
sealed with tape, placed in zip locked bags and refrigerated- they will not be opened,
autoclaved once finished)
This type of experiment is recognised as a high risk activity under DETE’s Managing
Risk in Curriculum Activities Risk Management strategy. This is because, should control
measures fail, there is a high potential risk of infection from the culture.
A school should not proceed with such an activity until the appropriate risk assessment
documentation is endorsed by the Principal (or his/her delegate) acknowledging that all
potential and foreseeable hazards can and will be appropriately controlled. This would
include the suitable PC conditions. Note that high risk CARA activities also require parental
consent.
2. Control
 Once inoculated with unknown cultures and before incubation, petri-dishes are to be
sealed with tape (at the 12 and 6; or 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions). Take care NOT to
make an airtight seal around the circumference as this may create anaerobic conditions
allowing high risk pathogens to culture.

Agar plates will be sealed with tape around their circumference and placed in a zip lock bag
after incubation for observation purposes to prevent accidental leaks during observation. If
the seal remains intact and the plates are autoclaved before disposal (121oC at 100 kPa for
≥35 minutes), risks of infection from unknown pathogens are lowered.
If there is a break in the petrie dish before sealing then it is to be immediately sterilised by
soaking in sodium hypochlorite (treated by a chemical disinfectant ≥30 minutes full
immersion preferably overnight).


The incubation temperature should be controlled and restricted to an upper limit of 30OC
to reduce the danger of isolating pathogens adapted to human body temperature. Ambient
room temperature is usually sufficient. Anaerobic incubation conditions (i.e. devoid of
oxygen) should also be avoided for the same reason.
24 hours is usually sufficient time to culture organisms at ambient temperature. Avoid
culturing for more than 48 hours as plates may begin to liquefy and smell, posing an
infection or contamination risk through leaks of living material during observation and
handling. Your indicated 3 day incubation period will significantly escalate the risk of
potential infection.
Can I sample from environmental sources- i.e. unknown samples?
Schools may choose to pursue studies where unknown organisms are used IF they determine
by risk assessment that physical containment facilities and staff experience can adequately
control the risks of unknown pathogens. By collecting or sampling living microorganisms
from the environment, students may inadvertently sample and grow cultures of
microorganisms from R2 and R3 groups (i.e. presenting high individual risk and moderate
community risk) that cannot be safely managed in PC1 (school) laboratories. Hence, these
cultures pose a high level of risk in schools as the available facilities and work procedures
may not be available to safely control associated risks.
Disposal of microbial waste
Any competent (trained, experienced, knowledgeable) staff member may dispose of
waste by following an approved procedure.
TEACHERS
Please make sure you highlight the risk assessments from students that will involve any of the
above so we can explain how important it is that they follow the above and so that we can see
that they have parental approval to do this activity.
Thanks,
Carol-Ann Morel