Difference between revisions of "Team:Toulouse/Safety"

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Revision as of 14:33, 16 September 2015

iGEM Toulouse 2015

Safety


Team safety and training

INSA safety training

During the summer, our lab was in the engineering school INSA wich possesses a safety department with one prevention advisor and several prevention assistants assigned to the laboratories. Their goal is to ensure the well being of the employees regarding safety rules and risk prevention. In our laboratory, the LISBP, safety is supervised by Nathalie Doubrovine who was the one instructing us regarding safety procedures.
As new interns we had to take part in a general training session to learn how to identify the risks and prevent ourselves and our colleagues from harm. We also followed several other trainings that allowed us to use technical apparatus such as autoclave or MNR.
The laboratory safety training requirements of the LISBP are detailed in the Rules and Procedures of the LISBP.

New employees safety training

Every new LISBP employee has to attend this training session regardless of its status (researcher, PhD student, intern...). The training is divided into two parts. The first one is a training concerning general prevention in research laboratories. This one is taken individually with the NEO software and the explanations of the prevention assistant. It also informs the employee about the emergency numbers.
The second one is a training about the techniques used during our stay concerning microbiological, chemical and incendiary risks.
We then took a test to make sure that we were attentive and understood the previous presentations.

Autoclave

The whole team went through an autoclave training, detailing the explosive/implosive danger surrounding work with an under pressure apparel.
A lab coat, heat resistant gloves and glasses must be worn when manipulating the autoclave.

Liquid nitrogen

We also had a training explaining the risks faced when manipulating liquid nitrogen, and how to manage incidents. Isothermic gloves, glasses and of course a lab coat must be worn when working with it.

MNR

We used the MNR machine kindly made available to us by the Genotoul platform to analyse our culture extracts. This is a powerful but very expensive equipment, based on the magnetic resonance of the atoms. Due to this, specific rules have to be respected when working with it.
In order to protect the user, access to the MNR is restricted to people wearing pacemakers, drug pump systems, staples on soft or hard tissue, and pregnant women.
Secondly, in order to protect the technological material, when entering the room the user should not wear a lab coat, nor have anything in his pockets, especially anything made of metal.

Legislation and French Labor Law

INSA Toulouse is a public school for engineers thus the biosafety guidelines are not specific to our institution; the French national regulations about working conditions and the manipulation of genetically modified organisms are applied.
The regulation on workers' protection against risks resulting from their exposure to pathogenic biological agents (Decree No. 94-352 of 4 May 1994) includes microorganisms, cell cultures and human endoparasites which may cause infections, allergies or toxicity.
This Decree is the French transposition of the Directive 90/679 / EEC and is also transcribed in the Labour Code (Articles L4421-1 R4421-1 to R4427-5.)
The Decree of the 16th July 2007 describes the technical preventive measures that are to be set up in research laboratories (including containment), education, analysis, anatomy and surgical pathology, autopsy rooms, and industrial and agricultural facilities where workers are likely to be exposed to biological pathogens.
The rules of health, safety, and preventive medicine applied in public services in France (and thus in all public facilities working in scientific and technological domains) are set out in the Decree No. 82-453. This decree refers to the Labour Code, Public Health Code and Environmental Code.
The Decree No. 2011-1177 is related to the use of genetically modified organisms.

Safety in the lab

Equipment

  • A conventional lab coat, closed with long sleeves
  • Closed shoes
  • Gloves
  • Glasses if needed (UV exposure, hot water or chemical handling)

Waste

Different trash containers are available in the lab:

One for biological waste (yellow).
This waste will be autoclaved before being thrown out.

One for common waste (green or orange).

Storage

We have three cupboards, each one dedicated to a different kind of chemical product we use:

Flammable products

Acids

Bases

Rules

Our workspace is divided between two rooms. We have a break room where no biological material is brought. In this room, we are able to eat and drink (a fridge, a kettle and a coffeemaker are available) but it is also the space where we hold our meetings and work on our computers. On the contrary, in the lab, we have to wear protective equipment and respect basic rules:

  • No smoking (all rooms)
  • No drinks or food
  • Obligation to wear a closed cotton lab coat
  • Oblligation to wear closed shoes
  • Long hair must be tied up
  • Oral pipetting of any substance is prohibited in any laboratory
  • Regular handwashing
  • In some cases (UV light, projection risk), obligation to wear protection glasses

Apparatus

Chemical hood

We used the chemical hood when we had to manipulate dangerous and volatile chemicals. For example, all manipulations dealing with formic and butyric acid were done under such a hood.

Water-bathes

The water-bathes were used extensively (transformation, digestion, etc.). However, they can be dangerous because of the exposition to hot or even boiling water. To prevent the burning risk associated with heat, steam and projections, we used special gloves. We made sure to always check that the water-bathes were turned off at the end of the day.

Biological safety cabinet

To manipulate into a sterile area and thus avoid external contamination by unwanted microorganisms we used a Biological safety cabinet (FASTER – Ultrasafe). The bench of the BSC was cleaned with ethanol before and after each manipulation. We also cleaned the BSC completely every two weeks.

Ethidium Bromide

Dark room

We have a dark room dedicated to the use of EtBr and UV. This room is key-closed and everyone entering the room has to wear gloves, glasses and a lab coat. Everything in direct contact with something in this room has to stay there.

Waste

Two specific trash cans are dedicated to the gloves or paper and the contaminated agarose gels.

References