Accessibility statement

Approval of Risk Assessments

All risk assessments for activities requiring a formal assessment must be approved before work commences.  This includes:

GM Activities

  • All Class 1 GM microbial activities or those involving transgenic plants and animals requiring standard containment measures must have provisional approval by the Biological Safety Advisor before work can start. The activity will also require review and final approval by the Biological Agents Safety Committee.
  • All GM microbial activities assigned Class 2 or above, or transgenic plant and animal activities requiring a high level of containment (not provided by the standard measures), must have approval by the GM and Dangerous Pathogens Safety Committee before work can commence. Some of these activities may also require notification to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and / or licence from HSE / DEFRA before work starts.

Other activities with biological agents

  • All activities involving the deliberate use of Hazard Group 2 organisms, or materials that may contain Hazard Group 2 organisms or above, must have the approval of the Biological Safety Advisor before the work commences
  • All activities involving Hazard Group 3 human or animal pathogens, or other biological agents requiring notification to the HSE, must have the approval of the Biological Agents Safety Committee before work starts.
  • All relevant animal & plant pathogen licences from the HSE / DEFRA must also be in place before work can start.