Team:Groningen/Safety

From 2009.igem.org

Safety

Safety is defined by the [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Safety Merriam Webster dictionary] as

1. the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury, or loss
2. a device (as on a weapon or a machine) designed to prevent inadvertent or hazardous operation

Everything that can prevent harm is seen as a safety measurement, legislation to ensure safety in laboratory exist at different governmental levels.

To secure ourselves of safe working environments, working with genetically modified organisms, toxic substances we had to take certain measurements. These measurements can be divided in two subjects.

• Protect ourselves
• Protect the environment

Most safety precautions are summarized in the [http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/HRSForms.nsf/pub/EHSD0303/$File/EHSD0303.pdf ten commandments of laboratory safety] and to ensure a comfortable working environment also the [http://openwetware.org/wiki/DOs_and_DONTs_of_Good_Lab_Citizenship DO's and DONT's of Good Lab Citizenship] were of some importance. However, working with heavy metals (in combination with GMO's) might be novel to most labworkers. To protect ourselves from the heavy metals we worked with, all work was done in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fume_hood fume hood] specially designated for working with heavy metals, while wearing nitrile gloves. All contaminated waste was collected separately in chemical waste bins. Bacterial cultures containing heavy metals were first treated with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine chlorine] after which they were disposed together with the other contaminated waste. Disposing of the heavy metals had to occur through specialized ways to prevent the release into the environment.