Difference between revisions of "Safety"

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<h2> <a id="Timeline"></a>Timeline</h2>
 
<h2> <a id="Timeline"></a>Timeline</h2>
 
<div id="alertMessage"><p>Safety deadlines and forms will be published by the end of February 2015.</p></div>
 
<div id="alertMessage"><p>Safety deadlines and forms will be published by the end of February 2015.</p></div>
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<h3>Safe Project Design</h3>
 
<h3>Safe Project Design</h3>
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<p>Be a responsible engineer!</p>
  
 
<h3>Safe Lab Work</h3>
 
<h3>Safe Lab Work</h3>
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<p>Protect yourself from being infected by the organisms you work with!</p>
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<p>All biological lab work, even simple experiments, carries some risk to the experimenter. To reduce these risks, iGEM teams should work in properly equipped facilities and use standard lab safety techniques.</p>
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<p>Microorganisms are classified into four <b>Risk Groups</b>, and biological laboratories are classified into four corresponding <b>Safety Levels</b>. Risk Group 1 contains non-pathogenic organisms like yeast and E. coli K-12. The majority of iGEM teams use only Risk Group 1 organisms. Some teams use Risk Group 2 organisms. <b>The use of Risk Group 3 and 4 organisms is not permitted in iGEM.</b></p>
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<th>&nbsp;</th>
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<th>RG 1</th>
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<th>RG 2</th>
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<th>RG 3</th>
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<th>RG 4</th>
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<th>Description</th>
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<td>nonpathogenic</td>
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<td>slightly pathogenic</td>
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<td>dangerous</td>
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<td>OMG DEADLY</td>
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<th>Examples</th>
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<td>E. coli K-12, yeast (S. cerevisiae), Lactobacillus</td>
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<td>Most mammalian cell lines</td>
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<td>Anthrax</td>
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<td>Ebola</td>
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<th>Appropriate Lab</th>
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<td>Safety Level 1</td>
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<td>Safety Level 2</td>
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<td>Safety Level 3</td>
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<td>Safety Level 4</td>
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<th>Photo</th>
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<h4><a href="https://2015.igem.org/Safety/Learn_More#SafeLabWork">Learn more about Safe Lab Work</a></h4>
  
 
<h3>Safe Shipment</h3>
 
<h3>Safe Shipment</h3>
  
<p>iGEM teams and the Registry frequently exchange samples of DNA through the mail. Although these shipments are generally not dangerous, they are still governed by national and international laws. iGEM teams should learn how to ship DNA samples safely and legally.</p>
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<p>Protect your part submissions from delays and blockages! Protect the Registry of Standard Biological Parts!</p>
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<p>iGEM teams and the Registry frequently exchange samples of DNA through the mail. Although these shipments are generally not dangerous, they are still governed by national and international laws. iGEM teams should learn how to ship DNA samples safely and legally, and which samples should not be shipped.</p>
  
<h4><a href="https://2015.igem.org/Safety/Learn_More">Learn more about Safe Shipment</a></h4>
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<h4><a href="https://2015.igem.org/Safety/Learn_More#SafeShipment">Learn more about Safe Shipment</a></h4>
  
 
<h2> <a id="Committee"></a>Who is the iGEM Safety Committee?</h2>
 
<h2> <a id="Committee"></a>Who is the iGEM Safety Committee?</h2>
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Revision as of 16:23, 2 February 2015

Safety

Please note that all information on this page is in a draft version.
Please check back often for details.
Safety deadlines and forms will be published by the end of February 2015.

Timeline

Safety deadlines and forms will be published by the end of February 2015.

What is Safety in iGEM?

iGEM teams follow a high standard of safe and responsible biological engineering. There are three main areas of safety that iGEM teams must attend to: Safe Project Design, Safe Lab Work, and Safe Shipment.

Safe Project Design

Be a responsible engineer!

Safe Lab Work

Protect yourself from being infected by the organisms you work with!

All biological lab work, even simple experiments, carries some risk to the experimenter. To reduce these risks, iGEM teams should work in properly equipped facilities and use standard lab safety techniques.

Microorganisms are classified into four Risk Groups, and biological laboratories are classified into four corresponding Safety Levels. Risk Group 1 contains non-pathogenic organisms like yeast and E. coli K-12. The majority of iGEM teams use only Risk Group 1 organisms. Some teams use Risk Group 2 organisms. The use of Risk Group 3 and 4 organisms is not permitted in iGEM.

  RG 1 RG 2 RG 3 RG 4
Description nonpathogenic slightly pathogenic dangerous OMG DEADLY
Examples E. coli K-12, yeast (S. cerevisiae), Lactobacillus Most mammalian cell lines Anthrax Ebola
Appropriate Lab Safety Level 1 Safety Level 2 Safety Level 3 Safety Level 4
Photo

Learn more about Safe Lab Work

Safe Shipment

Protect your part submissions from delays and blockages! Protect the Registry of Standard Biological Parts!

iGEM teams and the Registry frequently exchange samples of DNA through the mail. Although these shipments are generally not dangerous, they are still governed by national and international laws. iGEM teams should learn how to ship DNA samples safely and legally, and which samples should not be shipped.

Learn more about Safe Shipment

Who is the iGEM Safety Committee?

Safety Form

Every team should complete a Safety Form. This form lets you show us several things:

  • That you are working responsibly in an appropriate lab.
  • That you are in contact with the biosafety authorities of your university/institution, or of your country.
  • That you are working with your advisors to ensure good lab practices.

The Safety Form also helps you think further about safety for your project as it is now, and as it might be in the future. You should complete a Preliminary Version of your safety form by July 21: answer as many questions as you can, tell us about different project ideas, and don't worry about making it perfect. Then, you should complete a Final Version of your safety form by September 1. On the Final Version, you should answer all the questions completely.

Any team members can write the Safety Form and save it as a draft. You will need an Instructor to submit the form.

What about non-biological safety?

This year, the iGEM safety program only covers biological safety. iGEM does not have safety policies or safety forms for hazardous chemicals (methanol, ethidium bromide, etc.), equipment (open flames, liquid nitrogen equipment, etc.), or radioactivity (radio-labeled nucleotides, etc.). Your advisors and instructors are responsible for ensuring that you work safely with any chemicals, equipment, or radioactivity that you use. Consult your instructors, your laboratory manager, or your lab safety office for help with non-biological safety. Of course, if you have a question or concern about non-biological safety, you are welcome to ask us (safety AT igem DOT org) at any time! Similarly, we encourage you to write about these issues on your wik