About our lab

Material used:
We use open benches and Laminar flow hood / biosafety cabinet with open front to handle biological materials.
We handle cancerogenous materials such as ethidium bromide or polyacrylamide under separate closable hoods. Also acidic and basic solutions are handeled behind closable hoods. All radioactive materials or methods are located in a separate laboratory in the basement.
We also have a separate room for RNA work.

Protection:
For protecting ourselves while doing lab chores, we use full face shields during cutting out gels or any work that involves longer exposure to UV radiation. We certainly use nitril gloves for handling any ethidium bromide and polyacrylamide contaminated materials. Safety glasses are frequently worn, especially if dangerous materials like acids, bases and liquid nitrogene are used or if there is anything that can splash like at the AKTA. Fur using -80°C freezers we use isolated gloves.
The laboratory safety training requirements of the Technical University Berlin can be found here or here (BG RCI).

All Team members received a safety training.

Disposal:
We collect biological waste in big containers within the lab and autoclave it later. The autoclaved waste is then taken care of by the institute. Contaminated and non-contaminated broken glas are collected separately. There is also a separate waste for cancerogenous and environmental hazardous waste like ethidium bromide gels etc.

Biosafety guidelines of the Technical University Berlin:
The Institutional Biosafety Officer (BSO) is responsible for ensuring that laboratories are working safetly with biohazardous materials. This includes the periodic inspection of laboratories, developing emergency plans for handling spills and accidents and investigating laboratory accidents involving biohazardous materials. The BSO also provides technical consultation for researchers on conducting risk assessments, safety practices, and security. Environmental Health and Safety provides services necessary for biological research. These services include biomedical waste disposal, autoclave quality assurance, biosafety cabinet certification, biosafety inspections, training and emergency response. Know the hazards associated with the biological materials and procedures used in the laboratory. Follow approved lab procedures and safety guidelines. Know the emergency procedures. Complete all required training before conducting any lab activity. Utilize all required Personal Protective Equipment. Do not work alone in the laboratory.

German regulations that govern biosafety in research laboratories:
http://www.gmo-safety.eu/
http://www.gmo-safety.eu/links.html
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/gmfood/qanda_en.pdf
http://www.baua.de/nn_15226/de/Themen-von-A-Z/Biologische-Arbeitsstoffe/TRBA/pdf/TRBA-466.pdf