Difference between revisions of "Team:Sherbrooke/Safety"

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<h2>Safety in iGEM</h2>
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<h1>Safety in iGEM</h1>
  
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<p>Please visit <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Safety">the main Safety page</a> to find this year's safety requirements & deadlines, and to learn about safe & responsible research in iGEM.</p>
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For our project, we design a lot of new electrical and mechanical systems. Electrical ones sometimes use high voltage and high current. Mechanical ones are sometimes moving, at low or even high speed. So, when testing new design for the first time, or trying new things with them, safety was a concern we needed to deal with. Here are some examples of the biggest safety concerns we had during our project.
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<p>On this page of your wiki, you should write about how you are addressing any safety issues in your project. The wiki is a place where you can <strong>go beyond the questions on the safety forms</strong>, and write about whatever safety topics are most interesting in your project. (You do not need to copy your safety forms onto this wiki page.)</p>
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<h3>Mechanical tests</h3>
  
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A standard procedure we followed when testing new mechanical assembly, for examples the platform motion system or the centrifuge plate spinning, we would always wear safety glasses. Also, to help detect problems and prevent it, we would start with a low speed test and doing faster tests as the previous was concluding. That way, risk to damage the equipment and ourselves were lower than to run a full speed test right away.
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<h4>Safe Project Design</h4>
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<h3>Electronic tests and soldering</h3>
  
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<p>Does your project include any safety features? Have you made certain decisions about the design to reduce risks? Write about them here! For example:</p>
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When soldering our BananaBoard PCBs, to ensure our safety and proper assembly method, we always used suitable equipment located in a controlled environment. Of course, like for mechanical tests, we had our glasses on, and, if required, when we were using a reflow-oven, using gloves to manipulate the PCB afterwards.
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<h3>Biological hazard</h3>
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<li>Choosing a non-pathogenic chassis</li>
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<li>Choosing parts that will not harm humans / animals / plants</li>
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All manipulations implying a living organism have been executed in a certified level 1 biosecurity laboratory. All organism used are from risk group 1 according to the Canadian’s PSDS. These include <i>Escherichia coli K-12 substr. EC100Dpir+</i> and <i>Escherichia coli K-12 substr. BW25113</i>. The manipulation of pVCR94 was done with a modified version of the plasmid that does not carry multiple antibiotic resistance gene. All material used with these organism including, synthetic biological material (like PCR fragment), consumables, contaminated medium and reagent, used cultures and living organisms were decontaminated either by autoclave sterilisation or by proper bleach treatment. The adequate security equipment was wear the entire process (lab coat, glasses and gloves). Every person working with living organisms recieved the formation accrediting him to do so, following university’s security guidelines.
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<li>Substituting safer materials for dangerous materials in a proof-of-concept experiment</li>
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<li>Including an "induced lethality" or "kill-switch" device</li>
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<h4>Safe Lab Work</h4>
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<p>What safety procedures do you use every day in the lab? Did you perform any unusual experiments, or face any unusual safety issues? Write about them here!</p>
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<h4>Safe Shipment</h4>
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<p>Did you face any safety problems in sending your DNA parts to the Registry? How did you solve those problems?</p>
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Latest revision as of 01:02, 19 September 2015

Safety in iGEM

For our project, we design a lot of new electrical and mechanical systems. Electrical ones sometimes use high voltage and high current. Mechanical ones are sometimes moving, at low or even high speed. So, when testing new design for the first time, or trying new things with them, safety was a concern we needed to deal with. Here are some examples of the biggest safety concerns we had during our project.

Mechanical tests

A standard procedure we followed when testing new mechanical assembly, for examples the platform motion system or the centrifuge plate spinning, we would always wear safety glasses. Also, to help detect problems and prevent it, we would start with a low speed test and doing faster tests as the previous was concluding. That way, risk to damage the equipment and ourselves were lower than to run a full speed test right away.

Electronic tests and soldering

When soldering our BananaBoard PCBs, to ensure our safety and proper assembly method, we always used suitable equipment located in a controlled environment. Of course, like for mechanical tests, we had our glasses on, and, if required, when we were using a reflow-oven, using gloves to manipulate the PCB afterwards.

Biological hazard

All manipulations implying a living organism have been executed in a certified level 1 biosecurity laboratory. All organism used are from risk group 1 according to the Canadian’s PSDS. These include Escherichia coli K-12 substr. EC100Dpir+ and Escherichia coli K-12 substr. BW25113. The manipulation of pVCR94 was done with a modified version of the plasmid that does not carry multiple antibiotic resistance gene. All material used with these organism including, synthetic biological material (like PCR fragment), consumables, contaminated medium and reagent, used cultures and living organisms were decontaminated either by autoclave sterilisation or by proper bleach treatment. The adequate security equipment was wear the entire process (lab coat, glasses and gloves). Every person working with living organisms recieved the formation accrediting him to do so, following university’s security guidelines.