Safety

Our intention with this page is both to document how we work in the laboratory during our project, but also to serve as a guide for high school students and university freshmen on how to work safely with GMOs, hazardous chemicals, etc.

Safety in our lab

In our project we work exclusively with E. coli. The strains we work with are generally regarded as safe, 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 taking lab coats outside.

Another concern is the disposal of GMO waste. All trash that has been in contact with GM organisms must be thrown out in special GMO trash containers.

The bags from these containers are emptied regularly into locked containers outside.

Liquid cultures of GMO are disposed of in separate containers and treated with perfektan (http://www.medicalsupply.gr/dat/43D94425/file.pdf).

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.

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.