May 31, 2000
A nation wide check on GM research by the Environmental Risk Management Authority has revealed a substantial number of unauthorised developments. But these are generally low risk experiments, which pose no significant threat to the environment or public health.
The investigation follows reports last month that research was being done at the University of Otago's Christchurch School of Medicine and a number of universities and Crown Research Institutes without the necessary approvals. Since 1998, anyone who wants to import, develop, field test or release a GMO in New Zealand must apply to the Authority for approval, under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act.
ERMA New Zealand Chief Executive, Dr. Bas Walker, said the Authority had now completed a survey of all institutions known to be involved in GM research. Researchers had been given until 24 May to report back on all GM work they had initiated, was still in progress or completed - and to specify the approvals held, if any.
"We were pleased with the response. All 27 of the institutions we contacted responded on time and they have shown the utmost cooperation," said Dr. Walker. ERMA New Zealand is now checking the reported research projects against known approvals.
"We are now getting a clearer picture of what has been happening. There were some 580 GM developments reported which have the appropriate approvals. However, we have found a number of cases where work had been approved under the previous voluntary regime, but not transferred to the HSNO Act when it started," said Dr. Walker.
There appear to be 196 examples of research that were not notified to the Ministry for the Environment when it prepared the Order in Council to gazette existing approvals in July 1998. These will need to be transferred by a new Order in Council or submitted for consideration by the relevant Institutional Biological Safety Committee (IBSC)*. In other cases, it seems that work was approved some years before HSNO started but the organisms used had changed during the research programme, although these variations tended to be minor.
ERMA New Zealand has found 113 instances of unauthorised GM work with no proper approval. However, much of this - including work at Massey and Otago universities - results from changes in the technical nature of the modification that go beyond the bounds of the original approval for the experiment. Continues page 2.
"While at first glance the results of the survey looked alarming, we have found that most of the unauthorised projects were low risk GMO work, used as part of standard laboratory practice for teaching or research. However there is a concern because these GMOS have not been subject to a proper risk assessment, as they should have been."
"Material was found that had been kept in freezers, for example to allow for peer review by other scientists. Some researchers have simply not seen the need to take their work to the relevant approval body, either the IBSC or the Authority," said Dr. Walker.
Most common is development work involving E.coli bacteria. Some of it is transgenic - meaning that new genetic material is added in. Other work is simply modifying the genetic structure of an organism without adding new material.
Dr Walker said that the next step was to do a detailed analysis of these cases to identify the exact nature of the work involved and any potential risks - and to formally verify if the work is covered by HSNO approvals.
Any unauthorised research would then have to be submitted to the relevant IBSC or to the Authority for consideration. In the meantime, all material is being held in secure containment.
Dr Walker said that the nationwide check had shown a failure by some in the scientific community to adequately engage with the HSNO process. However, it had been a very valuable exercise because it had re enforced the message that approval processes have to be followed before GMOs can be developed.
"We know that we now have the attention of the scientific community - and that is a good thing. In future, there will be no excuse for not seeking the right approvals. We are now bringing all of this work into line and we will complete the exercise when we are satisfied that any risks have been properly identified and contained - and that the systems are fully in place to make sure that continues." Details on re-instatement of delegations to IBSCs
For further information:
| Bas Walker, Chief Executive. Tel: +64 4 473-8426. |
Karen Cronin, Communications Manager. Tel: +64 4 473-8426 or 021 674-952. |