Difference between revisions of "Team:Waterloo/Safety"

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     <h1>Safety in iGEM</h1>
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      <h4>Safety in Canada</h4>
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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 &amp; deadlines, and to learn about safe &amp; responsible research in iGEM.</p>
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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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        <h4>Safety in Canada</h4>
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         <p>Canada has well established Biosafety Regulations & Guidelines to regulate research practices. These practices can be found at the Public Health Agency of Canada website.</p>
 
         <p>Canada has well established Biosafety Regulations & Guidelines to regulate research practices. These practices can be found at the Public Health Agency of Canada website.</p>
  

Revision as of 21:42, 18 September 2015

Safety in Canada

Canada has well established Biosafety Regulations & Guidelines to regulate research practices. These practices can be found at the Public Health Agency of Canada website.

Safety in the Laboratory

All operations within the University of Waterloo, the host institution, are regulated by the University of Waterloo’s Safety Office. The regulations set out by the Canadian Biosafety Regulations & Guidelines affects the practices of the University. The University of Waterloo Safety Office, including the University of Waterloo Lab Safety Committee, has certified our host laboratory for the intended research. We follow the Biosafety Programs & Procedures set out by the Safety Office.

The team operated out of a host laboratory to ensure team members are supervised and well supported throughout the project. Our team performs all laboratory work in a host laboratory under the supervision of the Masters and PhD students as well as the host Faculty Member, Dr. Trevor Charles. The permits obtained by the parent laboratory cover the project carried out in the laboratory.

Our team members have completed the following training modules and procedures to prepare for working in the lab:

  1. [http://info.uwaterloo.ca/infohs/hse/online_training/workplace_violence/workplace_violence.html Workplace Violence and Harrassment Training]
  2. General Laboratory Safety
  3. WHMIS
  4. Laboratory Biosafety Training
  5. Biosafety Guidelines

Project Design

Strain Considerations

In order to avoid using a pathogenic chassis, the majority of our work was done using E. coli. Although our project design was such that we would not require contact with level II pathogens, we did receive biosafety training on their handling as a precaution.

Viral Use

Exposure of the plants to Cauliflower Mosaic Virus occurred at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the members involved with this process received on-site instruction. There were protective requirements to prevent the virus from being released into domestic agriculture in place at this facility, however viruses are very specific to membrane receptor proteins, so there is a little bit more lenience with working with humans.

  • Choosing a non-pathogenic chassis
  • Choosing parts that will not harm humans / animals / plants
  • Substituting safer materials for dangerous materials in a proof-of-concept experiment
  • Including an "induced lethality" or "kill-switch" device

Safe Lab Work

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!

Safe Shipment

Did you face any safety problems in sending your DNA parts to the Registry? How did you solve those problems?

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