COSHH

Last modified on December 16, 2009

The requirements of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 (as amended) and the associated Approved Codes of Practice (ACOP) may apply to certain GM work. COSHH defines biological agents as ‘any micro-organism, cell culture, or human endoparasite… which may cause any infection, allergy, toxicity or otherwise create a hazard to human health including any that have been genetically modified’. Known human pathogens are assigned to one of four hazard groups (Hazard Groups 1 to 4), depending on the hazards posed to human health. These hazard groups correspond to four levels of containment (Containment Levels 1 to 4), for which there are prescribed specific control measures. Activities with these agents must, therefore, be handled at the correct containment level. The hazard group classification for known pathogenic microorganisms can be downloaded from the HSE website.

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