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Team:UCL London/Safety
From 2011.igem.org
1. Would any of your project ideas raise safety issues in terms of: - researcher safety,
- public safety, or
Safety issues have been considered throughout our project design, experimental work plan and thorough risk assessment to achieve quality by design. Furthermore, all the participants of the project have completed a safety induction given by the Departmental Biological Safety Officer, during which fire evacuation procedure, accident reporting and general safety practices have been detailed and all team members have a copy of the departmental safety book. E. coli strains that are non-pathogenic and therefore low-risk have been chosen, so there is no great safety issue with regards to the host organism as long as Safe Microbiological Technique (SMicT) is adhered to. The major hazard identified in our project is the use of Ethidium Bromide (EtBr) for staining of agarose gels. EtBr is a mutagen and moderately toxic after an acute exposure due to its ability to intercalate with DNA bases, causing mutations such as “frameshift” and deletion, leading to oncogenic development. It should be treated as a possible carcinogen and teratogen. The following control measures will be adopted:
- Nitrile gloves will be used for all EtBr handling
- EtBr preparations are to be carried out in a dedicated fume hood
- All EtBr-containing materials will be disposed of in dedicated bins
- Work surfaces must be thoroughly cleaned after each experiment
In addition, attention should be paid when operating the centrifuge, autoclave as well as microwave. For instance, weight distribution should be even in the centrifuge to prevent the rotor blade from dislodging and shredding the machine. Also, heatproof gloves should be worn when handling the autoclave to prevent first to second degree burns. Last but not least, when melting agar we must make sure the bottle cap is loosened to prevent pressure buildup. </p>
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