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From 2011.igem.org

== 1. Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of: researcher safety, public safety, or environmental safety? ==

Gaston Day School’s nitrate detector does not pose any significant risk to researcher or public safety since, as a high school, we are restricted to working with organisms and chemicals at BioSafety Level 1.

Any environmental detector has the potential to be released into the environment. If released, potential issues include the spread of plasmids carrying antibiotic resistances and introduction of synthetic genes into new populations. These safety issues are related to the use of a finalized product and not to the production of the biobrick.

== 2. Do any of the new BioBrick parts (or devices) that you made this year raise any safety issues? If yes, did you document these issues in the Registry? How did you manage to handle the safety issue? How could other teams learn from your experience? ==

As stated above, the safety issues raised by our nitrate detector are related to using the detector in the field. Instructions and the chemicals necessary for deactivating the detector using bleach will be included in the final kit. However, people are notorious for not following directions for using many products, including those products which may be hazardous, such as pesticides.

As an additional part of our project, we are examining the effects of failure to follow the given disposal directions. We will be looking at the actual longevity of the engineered bacteria in a variety of conditions that we think are the most likely “disposal errors,” including dumping the bacteria down a sink, into chlorinated or non-chlorinated water, into a local pond or creek, or simply dumping it into the soil. These experiments will allow us to determine the actual risk of this type of product.

== 3. Is there a local biosafety group, committee, or review board at your institution? If yes, what does your local biosafety group think about your project? If no, which specific biosafety rules or guidelines do you have to consider in your country? ==

Gaston Day School does not have a formal biosafety committee, but all major projects undertaken as a school are reviewed and approved by the head of the division and the head of school with consultation by any necessary specialists if needed. Formation of a more formal committee to approve all science fair-type projects is in the planning stages. Restrictions associated with working in a highschool also mean that we adhere to all government regulations as well.

== 4. 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? ==

See answer to question 2.

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