Team:Utah State/Safety

From 2011.igem.org

"Edit This Page"

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

a. researcher safety

The materials used in our project pose no risks to the safety and health of the members. All of our biobrick parts were put into Escherichia coli DH5α. We did not use any pathogenic strains of E.coli, nor were any of our biobrick constructs of any potentially hazardous pathways. Our lab is a BSL 2 rated lab. In addition to putting biobricks into E.coli, we also put some of our parts into the Cyanobacteria Synechocystis PCC 6803.

b. public safety

As with any recombinant microbes, significant testing needs to be conducted at the laboratory scale before being released to the public. Materials in our project would not pose any significant risk to the public. Since our project does not focus on pathogenic or infectious pathways, even if released by accident there would be no risk to the general public. Parts are cloned into vectors containing antibiotic resistance and thus the bacteria would not be able to maintain the plasmids in an environment outside of the lab.

c. environmental safety?

There would be no risk to environmental quality if released by design or accident. As mentioned previously, all parts are cloned into vectors containing antibiotic resistance.

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?

Our lab operates under BSL2 safety provisions. This means that we are not handling anything that is potentially toxic or pathogenic. In addition we also follow our university biosafety provisions.

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?

Yes Utah State University has an Institutional Biosafety Committee: http://www.usu.edu/fsenate/PDF/Utah%20State%20University%20Councils%20and%20Committees%20Handbook%202010-11.pdf

We have discussed our project with the committee and they have approved our work. Since our laboratory is used for other synthetic biological research the approval was straightforward.

Utah State University has its own biosafety rules. A link is provided here: http://ehs.usu.edu/htm/programs-and-services/biological-safety

The University has rules and regulations regarding the correct disposal and clean up of biological waste material.

All undergraduate students are trained by the Environmental Health and Safety department (EH&S) at Utah State University. This training covers basic laboratory safety procedures and practice. It is required that everyone (including graduate students and staff) who works in a laboratory at Utah State University take this day long course. In addition, all undergraduates were trained specifically on biological safety by experienced graduate advisors and faculty before they were allowed to work in the laboratory. For more information about Utah State University laboratory safety training please see: http://ehs.usu.edu/htm/training/health-and-safety-training-courses

The United States has strict regulations and guidelines for biosafety. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has guidelines for working with recombinant DNA. See: http://oba.od.nih.gov/oba/rac/Guidelines/NIH_Guidelines.htm The centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) also has guidelines for biosafety. See: http://www.cdc.gov/biosafety/

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?

As with any new technology, standards have to be set by higher authorities. For example if a new drug is to be implemented in the United States, companies have to go through rigorous checks to meet with the government standards before the drug could be given to the public. Standards for safety and security are already well established for many science and engineering fields. As synthetic biology grows safety and security will become a major discussion topic. It is our job as scientist to be responsible for our work and take great care not to cause any damage to ourselves or our fellow citizens.

An example of biosafety engineering could be credit cards. Where the credit card and pin are shipped separately, the same could be done with biobrick parts and devices. For example a biological device could be shipped separate to the activator and thus if any piece of the shipment is interfered with then the biological device is not going to fall into the wrong hands. The information regarding the shipment could be sent in electronically and thus enhancing security further.