Team:Toulouse/Safety

"Safety is not just a slogan, it is a way of life"

Summary :

iGEM Safety
Chassis Organism
New and/or modified coding region
Team safety

iGEM Safety

Our safety form was approved on September X, 2014 by the iGEM team. We filled in with the help of Nathalie Doubrovine, safety officer at the LISBP.

Chassis organisms

New and/or modified coding region

Team safety

Safety in INSA de Toulouse

INSA de Toulouse is a public school for engineers. The biosafety guidelines are not specific to our institution, the French regulations are applied.
The regulation about the workers' prevention against risks resulting from their exposure to pathogenic biological agents (Decree No. 94-352 of 4 May 1994) includes microorganisms, cell cultures and human endoparasites which may cause infection, allergy or toxicity.
This Decree is the French transposition of the Directive 90/679 / EEC and is also transcribed in the Labour Code (Articles L4421-1 R4421-1 to R4427-5.)
The Decree of the 16 July 2007 describes the technical preventive measures (including containment) to set up in research laboratories, education, analysis, anatomy and surgical pathology, autopsy rooms, and industrial and agricultural facilities where workers are likely to be exposed to biological pathogens.
The rules of health, safety, and preventive medicine applied in public services in France (and thus in all public facilities working in scientific and technological domains) are set out in the Decree No. 82-453. This decree refers to the Labour Code, Public Health Code and Environmental Code.
The Decree No. 2011-1177 is related to the use of genetically modified organisms.

There is no one in charge of the biological safety at the INSA de Toulouse. However there is an organization which includes one prevention advisor and several prevention assistants in each of the structure. As far as the LISBP (our structure) is concerned, Nathalie Doubrovine is the prevention assistant.
We have already discussed our project with her. She has given us the safety training and she will give us advices about how to respond to an imminent danger.
She raised the problem of GMO and the related policy. Indeed she told us there is a special procedure for the destruction of GMO: we cannot wash this kind of organism down the drain.
We were also informed about the potential chemical and microbiological risks with her.

The laboratory safety training requirements of the LISBP are detailed into the Rules of Procedure of the LISBP.
The legislation requires employers to inform "all new employees" of the risks that they may encounter as well as ways to protect themselves from those risks. Therefore any newcomer must pass a practical and appropriate training in hygiene and safety to ensure its own safety and the one of his colleagues.
Every person that enters in the LISBP has to make this training whatever its status (researcher, PhD student, trainee, etc.).
The training is divided into two parts. The first one is a training concerning general risk prevention into research laboratories. This one is made individually thanks to the software NEO and with the explanations of the prevention assistant. The second one is a training about the techniques used during the occupation.

All the team members have received this safety training. It lasts 1h30. It concerns fire risks, biological and chemical risks and good laboratory practices. We have made this training individually with software designed by the CNRS and INSERM named NEO. This training ends with a questionnaire to check our knowledge. This questionnaire reminds us the basic safety rules in a molecular biology lab and gives us new knowledge about safety.
We have also made a training to know how to sort out biological waste and how they are treated. We also learned that we cannot use autoclave by ourselves because a specific training is needed. We did not do this specific training.

Safety in the lab

"If you don't think it's safe, it probably isn't"

We have organized our workspace. There is the relaxing room where no microbial material should enter. In this room, we can eat and drink (a fridge, a kettle and a coffeemaker are available) but it is also the room where we have our meetings and where we can work on our computers. There is the lab, where we have to wear protective equipment and respect basic rules.

Personal protective equipment

As soon as we manipulate in the lab, we have to wear the following personal protective equipment:

- A conventional lab coat, closed with long sleeves
- Closed shoes
- Gloves
- - Glasses if needed (UV exposure, hot water or chemicals manipulation.)

Basic rules in a lab

Ethidium bromide
All along our project, we use non-pathogenic strains and non-toxic product, except the EtBr. We have a dark room dedicated to the use of EtBr and UV. This room is key-closed and everyone entering into the room must wear gloves, glasses and lab coat. Everything which is in contact directly with something in this room has to stay here. Two specific garbages are dedicated to the gloves and the agarose gels contaminated

Basic safety principles
All along our project, we use non-pathogenic strains and non-toxic product, except the EtBr. However, we have to apply the basic safety principles into a laboratory room:
- It is forbidden to smoke in all the INSA's rooms.
- It is forbidden to drink and eat in the laboratory rooms.
- It is compulsory to wear a closed lab coat in cotton.
- It is compulsory to wear closed shoes.
- Long hair must be tied back
- Oral pipetting of any substance is prohibited in any laboratory

"Precaution is better than cure"

Basic safety principles
There is also others precaution when working with biological organisms.
- We need to wash our hands regularly.
- It is compulsory to wear gloves except when working with an electric burner.
- In some case (UV light, projection risk), it is compulsory to wear protection glasses.
Indeed, different machine are used to keep a sterile area.