Team:RHIT/Safety

Safety in iGEM

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Synthetic Biology Lab is the home of the 2015 iGEM team.

Dress Code

To work in the lab, there are specific attire requirements. These include wearing long pants, close-toed shoes, shirts covering upper arms, and having long hair pulled back. When performing experiments, gloves are required. Lab coats, goggles, and masks are also worn as necessary.

Lab

The lab is equipped with controlled access, a biohazard disposal bin, autoclave, fume hood, biosafety cabinet, eyewash and shower station, fire extinguisher, and fire alarm. Each team member was trained in laboratory safety during previous coursework, and additional safety training was conducted as necessary. The team follows and adheres to the safety guidelines in place for all biology labs on campus. Furthermore, each member places the highest concern on maintaining aseptic technique to minimize contamination and safety concerns.

All chemicals used in the lab are stored, handled, and used as recommended by the manufacturer, and are disposed of in accordance with national, state, and local regulations and recommendations. MSDS are readily available. This year’s project utilizes Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The strains used are considered Risk Group 1 organisms by the World Health Organization in their Laboratory Biosafety Manual. This classification means that these organisms are low risk and “unlikely to cause human disease or animal disease.” All microbial strains used in the lab are rendered antibiotic resistant by transformation, or harbor nutritional auxotrophies or other mutations that mitigate the risk of growth outside of the laboratory. The ability of the organism to cause disease in healthy humans or animals is minimal. Lastly, none of our recombinant strains produce any known toxin or contagion.

Training

Each team member has gone through laboratory safety training. This includes aseptic technique to prevent contamination and good laboratory practices to ameliorate other safety concerns.