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National News
Lab errors leads to GE leak
NZ HERALD
By David Fisher
4:00 AM Sunday Aug 1, 2010
Photo / Glenn Jeffrey
A probe into the escape of genetically engineered plants from a government laboratory found scientists had left routes open.
Scientists also washed out their high-security specialist containment laboratory with water that was flushed straight into the storm water system.
Details of a criminal investigation into a GE breach at a Plant and Food Research glasshouse laboratory are exposed in papers released under the Official Information Act.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry documents describe a slew of failures and oversights by the government agencies charged with overseeing New Zealand GE laws.
The errors were made by the Environmental Risk and Management Authority, charged with allowing the importation and use of GE material; Plant and Food Research; and MAF, which audits the controls.
The investigation by MAF's enforcement unit was launched after GE cress plants (arabidopsis thaliana) were found growing outside a supposedly secure glasshouse.
The glasshouse was on Lincoln University property in Christchurch but leased out to Plant and Food Research for its experiments.
A senior staff member followed protocols and alerted MAF after the cress leak.