Team:HKU HongKong/Safety

From 2012.igem.org

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     <h1>Safety</h1>
     <h1>Safety</h1>
<p>
<p>
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Members of our IGEM team members were required to attend a pre-lab training offered by the Department of Biochemistry, the University of Hong Kong before gaining access to the labs. The training was divided into 2 sessions, including a talk and a laboratory inspection, which serve to ensure all our team members are aware of any potential dangers in the lab. The Department of Biochemistry has provided and maintained a safe environment, in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations for every team member.
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Members of our IGEM team members were required to attend a pre-lab training offered by the Department of Biochemistry, the University of Hong Kong before gaining access to the labs. The training was divided into 2 sessions, including safety talk and laboratory inspection, which rise awareness of any potential dangers in the lab to our team members. The Department of Biochemistry has provided and maintained a safe environment, in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations for every team member.</p>
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</p>
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</br>
</br>
<p>
<p>
A. Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of:
A. Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of:
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Researcher safety
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<ol>
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The answer is no. Before doing laboratory work, we attended the laboratory inspection along with a safety talk held by our safety chief to strengthen the awareness of laboratory safety in addition to our personal protection. Moreover, information pamphlets on safety issue have been distributed to all of our IGEM team members as a guide.
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<h4><li>Researcher safety</h4>
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Public safety
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<p>No as we have series of measure to team members. Laboratory inspection along with a safety talk held by safety chief is required, which strengthen the awareness of laboratory safety. Moreover, information pamphlets on safety issue have been distributed to all of our team members as a guide. Nevertheless, supervision from advisor is required in the department. This provides better protection towards our team members.</P>
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In general, we will be using E.coli strains DH10b and DH5a to conduct plasmid engineering. These strains of E. coli are not known to cause harm to humans as well as animals. According to the Biosafety manual of the World Health Organisation, these groups of bacteria belong to the “Risk Group 1”, and “Biosafety Level 1 – basic”. Nevertheless to play safe and avoid the spread of E.coli, it is our practice to collect bacterial wastes, used agar plates, eppendorf tubes, and other laboratory apparatus in separate containers and sterilize them by autoclave before disposal. Bacteria, therefore, can hardly be dispersed. Hence, there is a very low potential that the public will be harmed by our bacteria.
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<br>
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Environmental safety
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<p>Before using new chemicals or bacterial stain in lab, Material Safety Data Sheet or Biosafety Level of particular stain was checked to ensure if there are any potential dangers to researcher.</p></li>
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There is no way that our experiment bacteria can spread outside our laboratory. Thus, the external environment will not be contaminated by our experiment bacteria. This is actually a common feature in many other researches.
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<h4><li>Public safety</h4>
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<p>In general, we will be using E.coli strain DH5a to conduct plasmid engineering. These strains of E. coli are not known to cause harm to humans as well as animals. According to the Biosafety manual of the World Health Organisation, these groups of bacteria belong to Biosafety Level 1.</p>
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<br> 
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<p>For isolation of pvdQ, genomic DNA of P. aerugonosa strain Boston 41501 is used, in which it belongs to Biosafety Level 1, instead of extracted from P. aerugonosa, which is Biosafety Level 2.</P>
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<a href="http://www.atcc.org/ATCCAdvancedCatalogSearch/ProductDetails/tabid/452/Default.aspx?ATCCNum=27853&Template=bacteria ">http://www.atcc.org/ATCCAdvancedCatalogSearch/ProductDetails/tabid/452/Default.aspx?ATCCNum=27853&Template=bacteria</a>
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<a href="http://www.atcc.org/ATCCAdvancedCatalogSearch/ProductDetails/tabid/452/Default.aspx?ATCCNum=27853D-5&Template=bacteria">http://www.atcc.org/ATCCAdvancedCatalogSearch/ProductDetails/tabid/452/Default.aspx?ATCCNum=27853D-5&Template=bacteria</a>
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<p>To avoid the spread of E.coli, used agar plates, eppendorf tubes, and other laboratory apparatus were disposed in separate containers and sterilize them by autoclave before disposal. Thus, bacteria can hardly be dispersed and harm public.</p></li>
 +
 
 +
<h4><li>Environmental safety</h4>
 +
<p>Apart from bacterial waste treatment mentioned in public safety, our lab bench was cleaned by 70% ethanol before we leave to prevent contamination. Every team members will clean their hands before they leave lab to prevent contaminate external environment by our experiment bacteria.</P>
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<br>
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<p>For AHL waste produced from lab work, it was labeled and treated separately to prevent pollution to external environment.</P></li>
</br>
</br>
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<p>
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<p>B. Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues?
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B. Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues?
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No. There are no safety issues raised by the new BioBrick parts because they do not pose any risk to humans as well as the environment.  
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No. There are no safety issues raised by the new BioBrick parts because they do not pose any risk to humans as well as the environment.
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</P>
</P>
</br>
</br>
<p>
<p>
C. Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution?
C. Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution?
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Yes! The Safety Committee of Department of Biochemistry in the University of Hong Kong. We discuss the biosafety aspect with the safety committee members at every stage of our progress. The committee concerns safety issues in three areas in particular: general, biological and radiation. Each area is under the supervision of different safety officers.
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Yes! The Safety Committee of Department of Biochemistry in the University of Hong Kong. We discuss the biosafety aspect with the safety committee members at every stage of our progress. The committee concerns safety issues in three areas in particular: general, biological and radiation. Each area is under the supervision of different safety officers. After review from the Safety Committee, they think the project is safe to work by undergraduate as there is supervision from advisor in iGEM team. 
</p>
</p>
</br>
</br>
<p>
<p>
D. Do you have any other ideas how to deal with safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?
D. Do you have any other ideas how to deal with safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering?
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We would like to suggest the use of a data book which is specifically used for recording the strains of bacteria, chemicals, all the other reagents and materials that are used for implementing the designed project. Moreover, it should include the ways of discarding wastes. For instance, many different methods and ways that we use to handle the wastes (eg. bacteria waste) are recorded in our lab. From this, we may be able to trace if there is any escape of bacteria or other substances to the environment. This information is suggested be posted on the iGEM wiki page so that when reading the wiki page, other people will understand biosafety of the project and will not panic about safety concerns.
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We would like to suggest to assign a particular area on lab bench only for microbe work. This area can reduce chance of contamination by microbe in two ways. First, only microbes are allowed to work in particular area means less area in the lab will be contaminated.  
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To achieve the goal of biosafety, stringent measures may be considered to enforce safety regulations at times when necessary.
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</p>
</p>
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Latest revision as of 09:27, 7 September 2012

Untitled Document

Safety

Members of our IGEM team members were required to attend a pre-lab training offered by the Department of Biochemistry, the University of Hong Kong before gaining access to the labs. The training was divided into 2 sessions, including safety talk and laboratory inspection, which rise awareness of any potential dangers in the lab to our team members. The Department of Biochemistry has provided and maintained a safe environment, in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations for every team member.


A. Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of:

  1. Researcher safety
  2. No as we have series of measure to team members. Laboratory inspection along with a safety talk held by safety chief is required, which strengthen the awareness of laboratory safety. Moreover, information pamphlets on safety issue have been distributed to all of our team members as a guide. Nevertheless, supervision from advisor is required in the department. This provides better protection towards our team members.


    Before using new chemicals or bacterial stain in lab, Material Safety Data Sheet or Biosafety Level of particular stain was checked to ensure if there are any potential dangers to researcher.

  3. Public safety
  4. In general, we will be using E.coli strain DH5a to conduct plasmid engineering. These strains of E. coli are not known to cause harm to humans as well as animals. According to the Biosafety manual of the World Health Organisation, these groups of bacteria belong to Biosafety Level 1.


    For isolation of pvdQ, genomic DNA of P. aerugonosa strain Boston 41501 is used, in which it belongs to Biosafety Level 1, instead of extracted from P. aerugonosa, which is Biosafety Level 2.

    http://www.atcc.org/ATCCAdvancedCatalogSearch/ProductDetails/tabid/452/Default.aspx?ATCCNum=27853&Template=bacteria http://www.atcc.org/ATCCAdvancedCatalogSearch/ProductDetails/tabid/452/Default.aspx?ATCCNum=27853D-5&Template=bacteria

    To avoid the spread of E.coli, used agar plates, eppendorf tubes, and other laboratory apparatus were disposed in separate containers and sterilize them by autoclave before disposal. Thus, bacteria can hardly be dispersed and harm public.

  5. Environmental safety
  6. Apart from bacterial waste treatment mentioned in public safety, our lab bench was cleaned by 70% ethanol before we leave to prevent contamination. Every team members will clean their hands before they leave lab to prevent contaminate external environment by our experiment bacteria.


    For AHL waste produced from lab work, it was labeled and treated separately to prevent pollution to external environment.


    B. Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues? No. There are no safety issues raised by the new BioBrick parts because they do not pose any risk to humans as well as the environment.


    C. Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution? Yes! The Safety Committee of Department of Biochemistry in the University of Hong Kong. We discuss the biosafety aspect with the safety committee members at every stage of our progress. The committee concerns safety issues in three areas in particular: general, biological and radiation. Each area is under the supervision of different safety officers. After review from the Safety Committee, they think the project is safe to work by undergraduate as there is supervision from advisor in iGEM team.


    D. Do you have any other ideas how to deal with safety issues that could be useful for future iGEM competitions? How could parts, devices and systems be made even safer through biosafety engineering? We would like to suggest to assign a particular area on lab bench only for microbe work. This area can reduce chance of contamination by microbe in two ways. First, only microbes are allowed to work in particular area means less area in the lab will be contaminated.