It is important to report any lab accident or exposure to the BSO or IBC Chair, but critically so with any recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules since this is a compliance requirement of the NIH Guidelines.
The goal of accident reporting is to determine what happened and put measures in place that will prevent it from happening again. The PI is responsible for training students and staff in procedures for dealing with accidents and how to report an accident.
Certain accidents require reporting within 24 hours.
These are incidents under BSL-2 and higher conditions that result in an OVERT exposure to organisms containing recombinant/synthetic nucleic acid molecules.
Other incidents must be reported within 30 days to the NIH OSP. These include:
- Any significant problems
- Any violation of the NIH Guidelines
- Any significant research-related accident or illness.
For reporting addresses, see section IV-B-7-2-(2) of the NIH Guidelines.