Team:Newcastle/safety

Health and Safety

Laboratory

In iGEM, lab work is essential for the construction and characterization of numerous BioBricks, required for our project. However, in order to work safely in the lab, a Health and Safety assessment must be carried out in order to prevent any harm exposure, chemically (chemicals), biologically (bacteria/yeasts/fungi) and physically (machineries).

Our lab work for the summer is situated in the Centre for Bacteria Cell Biology (CBCB) in Newcastle University. The facility is regarded as Biosafety level 1, which is explained below:

• Involves working with well-characterised agents, e.g. non-pathogenic E. coli
• Does not normally cause diseases in healthy individuals
• Bio-hazardous materials are kept minimal, e.g. gloves and sometimes facial protection against U.V light
• The laboratory is not separated from the building
• Contaminated materials are left in open rubbish containers
• All lab materials are decontaminated by autoclave

Our project does not actually consist of hazardous agents. The focus of the project is to use Bacillus subtilis, which is not known to be a human pathogen, although rarely causes food poisoning when contaminated into food.

Here is a list of lab Health and Safety notes:

GENERAL

• Always work with another person if the agents are hazardous
• No smoking, drinking or eating in the lab
• Benches should be kept clean and free of space
• Close bottle lids after use every time
• If spillages occur, clean up immediately

PERSONAL PROTECTION

• Lab coat should be worn at all times in the lab (buttoned up) and wear goggles and gloves when required
• U.V protection must be worn when working involving U.V
• Long hairs must be tied back

HYGIENE

• Wash hands after entering, and before leaving the lab thoroughly
• Do not touch or put anything into your mouth

EMERGENCIES

• Always know the location of fire exits and fire extinguishers, as well as first aid kits

STORAGE AND DISPOSAL

• Pipette tips, broken glasses, tube should be thrown into sharps bin
• Used cylinders should be auto-claved

Environment

The main problem in our project is that Bacillus subtilis may escape to the environment when we use them to spray onto the buildings. Even though the bacterium is not a human pathogen, it may still cause food contamination and rarely food poisoning. To overcome this problem, we plan to devise a kill-switch, which targets specifically Bacillus subtilis strains, and hopefully, making the project environmental friendly.