Team:DTU-Denmark/Methods/Safety

When doing an experimental project, safety issues concerning the work is very important in order to keep a safe working environment for yourself and your colleagues. In addition to document our general as well as project specific precautions we have chosen to use the connection to make develop a laboratory-safety guide in words and pictures. This safety-guide is meant for high-school students, university freshmen and others who might need it, and provides information on how to work safely with GMOs, hazardous chemicals, etc. The development of the safety guide is in nice continuation of our outreach-strategy with respect to the target group – however the guide serves an educational as well as an informative perspective.

Safety in our lab
	In our project we work exclusively with E. coli. The strains we work with are generally regarded as safe (have GRAS status), meaning that the health risks involved in working with them are minimal. Furthermore these strains will not survive well in nature, but extensive care must still be taken to ensure that they do not escape the laboratory. Thus the main safety concern when working with these organisms is to keep all GMO material inside GMO designated areas (i.e. the lab). Rule number one in preventing GMO escape is to wash hands carefully when leaving the lab, and never removing the lab coats from the laboratory. Another concern is the disposal of GMO waste. All trash that has been in contact with GM organisms must be thrown out in dedicated trash pins and from there further on to special GMO trash containers. The bags from these containers are emptied regularly into locked containers outside.
	Besides the organisms we work with a range of chemicals. Most of these are harmless or only dangerous if they come in contact with eyes, etc. One often used chemical that deserves particular mention is ethidium bromide. This chemical is used when doing gel electrophoresis, and is a known carcinogen. We therefore have a separate bench designated for gels, where gloves must be worn. Gloves are not to be worn anywhere else in the lab, except when working with other dangerous chemical, in which case they must be taken off immediately after, and the affected area cleaned. Liquid cultures of GMO are disposed of in separate containers and treated with perfektan (http://www.medicalsupply.gr/dat/43D94425/file.pdf). After running a gel it is often necessary to cut out specific bands for purification. This requires illumination with UV light. To protect the skin from the UV irradiation, we wear protective masks and gloves.