Safety

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
Examples E. coli K-12, yeast (S. cerevisiae), Lactobacillus, B. subtilis Streptococcus, Herpes virus, most mammalian cell lines Yersinia pestis (black plague), HIV, SARS virus Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Lassa virus
Description RG 1 organisms do not cause disease in healthy adult humans. RG 2 organisms can cause disease in humans, but the disease is treatable or preventable. RG 3 organisms cause serious disease in humans. Treatments and vaccines for these diseases may exist. RG 4 organisms cause deadly disease in humans, and they can easily travel from one person to another. No treatments or vaccines exist for these diseases.
Lab Safety Level Safety Level 1 Safety Level 2 Safety Level 3 Safety Level 4
Typical Lab 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



Requirements for iGEM Teams

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



Where can I learn more about safety, or get help?

Visit the Learn More about Safety page!

We've collected resources and tutorials to help you.


Contact iGEM HQ!

Email safety AT igem DOT org any time, with any questions you might have! We are friendly and available, and we will do our best to answer your questions quickly. Any team member can ask a question, whether you are a student, a leader, or an advisor. You should not fear that your team will suffer consequences simply because you asked us a question.


Virtual Open Office Hours

At various times during the summer, we will host Virtual Open Office Hours on Skype. Join us to ask questions, discuss concerns, and meet other iGEMers from around the world!

The schedule for Virtual Open Office Hours will be posted later.


Ask your Neighbors!

iGEM HQ is a good resource for safety, but it is not the only resource. You probably have many safety experts right next door to you! For example:

  • Your faculty advisor or team leaders
  • The laboratory manager for the lab where you work
  • The safety office or Institutional Biosafety Committee at your university/institution
  • Members of your local or national government


Who is the iGEM Safety Committee?



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