• Introduction
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  • Results Summary
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  • In-Vitro Characterization
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  • Microfluidics
  • Data
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• Tools
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• Notebook
  • Protocols
  • May
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• Considerations
  • Human Practices
  • Safety
• Acknowledgements
  • Sponsors
  • Partners

Safety

   1. Would the materials used in your project and/or your final product pose:
       

a. Risks to the safety and health of team members or others in the lab?

Our project involves the use of E.coli strains that have been used by countless generations of biology researchers without the slightest incident. No health risks are involved. Both for the experiment's own success and for the safety of others, all bacterial manipulations (cell cultures, glycerol stocks, mini-preps) that involve exposing bacteria to the air of the lab require the use of a Bunsen burner. Moreover, disposing of all bacteria is a two-step process. First, one must bleach the receptacle containing the bacteria (fill its contents with bleach) under the fume hood. The bleached mixture is then poured into a special canister which is treated separately. Second, all cell pellets or dry receptacles containing or having contained cells must be placed in a special biowaste bag, clearly labelled for that specific use. This bag is then disposed of, every week, by a special team from the Life Sciences building. These precautions, coupled with the usual wearing of nitrile and latex gloves at all times, are adequate to the task of maintaining the safety and health of our iGEM team.

b. Risks to the safety and health of the general public if released by design or accident?

There is no risk to the public if these bacteria are ever released into the public.

c. Risks to environmental quality if released by design or accident?

No known environmental damages have ever been attributed to the innocuous strains used in our lab.

d. Risks to security through malicious misuse by individuals, groups or states?

As mentioned earlier, there are no risks to security involved in the misuse of these bacteria by any entity.

   2. Under what biosafety provisions will / do you operate?

  a. Does your institution have its own biosafety rules and if so what are they? 

Provide a link to them online if possible.

The EPFL Safety Committee has put together specific protocols to follow with regards to biological and genetic work that are available on their website. These rules are followed by all EPFL labs including the two labs that organize the iGEM experience. These are standard rules covering both the ethics and methodology of all biological protocols. Clicking on the hyperlink will redirect you to the appropriate website listing out all of these rules in detail.

       b. Does your institution have an Institutional Biosafety Committee or equivalent group? 

If yes, have you discussed your project with them? Describe any concerns or changes that were made based on this review.

The EPFL does have an institutional safety committee, but not specific biosafety committee. We have been in touch with Stéphane Karlen, the biosciences representative to the institutional safety committee. The modus operandi, as far as project reviews are concerned, is to bring in an expert from the safety committee if toxic chemicals or potentially dangerous organisms are being used by a lab. Since this is not our case, we have not had to present a project review.

      c. Will / did you receive any biosafety and/or lab training before beginning your project? 

If so, describe this training.

We did not receive any specific biosafety training prior to working in the lab. However, whenever a new piece of equipment is introduced or a new protocol is created, we are all briefed on the safety concerns involved in its use. In particular, three of our lab members have received training from the CMI at the EPFL to be able to use the clean rooms for microfluidic chip fabrication. The website for clean room safety is here. More specifically, the training involves the use and wear of clean room gear (eyewear, body-suits, etc...) as well as the proper disposal of toxic chemicals involved in photolithography.

       d. Does your country have national biosafety regulations or guidelines? 

If so, provide a link to them online if possible.

Switzerland signed the Cartagena Protocol for Biosafety in 2000, and it was first enforced in 2005. For more information on the Swiss role in the Cartagena protocol, click here.

Interview with Dr. Stéphane Karlen, Biosafety Coordinator at the EPFL

Is there a Biosafety Committee at the EPFL and if so, how does it work, say, in the case a new laboratory opens?

There is a biosafety coordinator for the whole EPFL campus. The coordinator, who happens to be me, oversees a new domain at the EPFL, similar to the DIT for technological infrastructure, called the DSPS which is short for Domaine Sécurité, Prévention, et Santé. This domain was added last month to the EPFL governing structure and has networks in each group. The Biosafety Officer in this case plays two important roles for the DSPS: he or she does the work of the biosafety coordinator and also manages security.

Going back to your question about the protocol for new labs, I should mention that there are some new rules on how this works. First, there is a list of legal obligations which requires, among other things, that all lab directors or principal investigators announce any work involving genetically-modified organisms (GMO) or infections. Second, on top of EPFL's own investigations of lab work, the Fonds National -- Switzerland's main scientific funding agency -- does not release funding money until these notifications about GMOs and infections are made. Finally, the EPFL Biosafety group visits all the labs that are at a level 2 of risk or higher and checks in regularly on their safety measures.

Is there any biosafety training available at the EPFL and is it a requirement for working in a lab?