Team:Hong Kong HKUST/wetlab/safety

Environmental and General Public Safety

Improper disposal of biological waste might result in leak of biological materials to the environment, which might cause contamination, and improper disposal might also cause infection to those who process the wastes. However, there is little biological risk associated with our project in the first place, as described above because we are using innocuous bacteria strains that are unlikely to propagate in the environment. Despite being so, we autoclave all solid biological wastes before they are discarded as landfill garbage. We also treat liquid waste with 10% bleach to ensure that no biological waste could escape to the environment. Commonly used chemicals are mostly buffers and therefore pose little threat and risk to the environment. For chemicals that are hazardous, they could cause damage to other people if leaked out. We avoid these risks by collecting these chemical wastes and sending them to a centralized chemical waste disposal center within our university, where they will be processed by professionals in chemical waste treatment. The only living biological material that could escaped from the lab would be our E. coli host for DNA cloning and parts characterization, and there is little risk associated with their leakage because we are using DH10B as the major cloning host in which the strain is auxotrophic for leucine, and therefore rendering it unlikely to propagation outside laboratory environment. The strains of E. coli we use in lab, DH10B and DH5alpha, are also routinely used lab strains that are innocuous and non-virulent.

Researcher Safety

Tacking risk of organism, only non-virulent part was extracted from genomic DNA of non-virulent S. pneumoniae strain obtained from Professor Patrick Chiu Yat Woo at Hong Kong University. For chassis, only Biosafety Level 1 organisms (DH10B and DH5alpha) are dealt in the lab. All members are trained to deliver safe lab practices. In dealing with toxic chemicals such as DMSO, we wear lab coats and gloves and execute under fume hood. All experiments are conducted in a lab premise under authorized supervision. Risks with handling toxic chemicals, including DMSO, phenol and chloroform, which include chemical burns and damage to the health of team members in the long run, have been addressed. We wear lab coats and gloves whenever we handle these chemicals to minimize exposure to these chemicals, and we carry out bulk management of these chemicals inside a well ventilated fume hood. Risks associated with UV exposure during gel documentation and excision are also minimized by wearing face shields and gloves until the UV light is off.

University Safety

Health, Safety & Environment Office (HSEO) is responsible for safety regulations at our institution, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HKUST. We, team members, have not directly discussed our project with the director of HSEO but, our supervisors have. After discussing the risks, we decided to operate only on the genomic DNA of a non-virulent strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae and we are not handling the live bacteria itself.
The biosafety guidline of our institution can be directed to: http://www.ab.ust.hk/hseo/sm06/ch9.htm
The regulations that govern biosafety in research laboratories in Hong Kong can be directed to: http://www.legislation.gov.hk/blis_pdf.nsf/6799165D2FEE3FA94825755E0033
E532/CD005BD8FCD84653482576EA0053077B/$FILE/CAP_607_e_b5.pdf

Safety Training Courses

This year's HKUST team members have received safety training over the summer. Topics that we have learned about in safety training are as following:

1. Biological Safety

2. Chemical Safety I/ Chemical Safety for Laboratory Users

3. Chemical Safety II/ Hazardous Waste Management

The link to the laboratory safety training requirements of our institution (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HKUST) can be directed to:

Reference

Chapter 9 Biological Safety. (2006, November 1). Retrieved October 3, 2014, from
http://www.ab.ust.hk/hseo/sm06/ch9.htm

Health, Safety and Environmental Office. (2014, August 20). Retrieved October 3, 2014, from
http://www.ab.ust.hk/hseo/training.htm

Cap 607 Genetically modified organisms. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from
http://www.legislation.gov.hk/blis_pdf.nsf/6799165D2FEE3FA94825755E0033E532/CD005BD8FCD84653482576EA0053077B/$
FILE/CAP_607_e_b5.pdf