Template:Team:Bonn:NetworkData

content.titleShort = "Safety";  

content.titleShort = "Safety";  

content.titleLong = "Safety";  

content.titleLong = "Safety";  

content.text= " Safety is an important issue for all of the IGEM teams. Taking care of the health and safety of our teammates is of the utmost importance for us. In our opinion, only a safe lab is a good environment for research and work. On our safety page we would like to give you a brief overview over the precautions we take to ensure a safe work environment in the lab. </br></br> <h2> A </h2> Do the biological materials used in your lab work pose any of the following risks: </br> </br> 1. Risks to the safety and health of team members or others working in the lab? </br> In our lab, we work with E. coli (strain: DH5alpha;XL1Blue;w3110 sspB-; w3110 sspB- LacI-DAS+4;Top10; DH10 Beta). All these E.Coli strains are classified as risk group 1, as they can cause irritation of the skin, the eyes, and the respiratory tract; additionally, they can affect the kidneys. Although our E.coli strains are nonpathogenic, we wear protective clothes and examination gloves to ensure safety. </br> We also use ethidum bromide in our lab, which is toxic and can cause cancer. To minimize the risk of accidental contact with this dangerous substance, we have fume hoods especially designated for working with ethidium bromide. Furthermore, the use of nitrile gloves as well as lab coats is mandatory when we are working with potentially harmful substances and any waste contaminated with ethidium bromide is kept separate from other waste. </br> In addition, every team member had to take a course about biosafety and regulations in Germany (as required in §8-12 of the GenTSV, the German act of genetic engineering). </br></br> 2. Risks to the safety and health of the general public, if released by design or by accident? </br> There is little risk to the general public, since our bacteria strains are nonpathogenic and in general do not cause harm to humans. And yet, the contact of an immunocompromised person with our bacteria strains could lead to health issues. </br></br> 3. Risk to the environment, if released by design or by accident? </br> Since our bacteria and genetic parts are non pathogenic and the light induced protein degradation is not a threat to the environment, there is minimal risk to the environment if our (modified) bacteria were released . In addition, our lab is equipped with a special air conditioning system which maintains a slight low pressure environment in the lab and thus prevents the air from inside of the lab from getting out when the doors are opened. The risk of (genetically altered) bacteria being released by accident is therefore reduced. </br> </br> 4.Risks to security through malicious misuse by individuals, groups, or countries? </br> The risk of malicious misuse can never be completely eliminated. Although there are cameras around the campus as well as other security installations, an element of risk remains. If our project was stolen and our bacteria were released, the risks for the public would be minimal, since our bacteria strains are nonpathogenic and our project mainly deals with the light-inducible degradation of proteins, which is hardly dangerous. </br></br> 5. If your project moved from a small-scale lab study to become widely used as a commercial/industrial product, what new risks might arise? </br> Since our light-inducible degradation system is mostly thought to be applicable in restricted areas (labs, bioreactors) the risks are low. Of course, any industrial application of our system should mot be designed without additional fail-safes to ensure multiple layers of safety. </br> One possible “risk” of our project is inherent to any other biological system; namely, that mutations in our device's gene sequence lead to unforeseen consequences. We assume that it is most likely that a mutation in our device will lead to the device's failure, i.e. leading to an accumulation of the protein that is supposed to be degraded. Whether this poses merely efficiency problems or more serious biosafety risks depends on the specific application and should be considered by persons responsible for implementing that instance of our technology. </br></br> 6. Does your project include any design features to address safety risks? (For example: kill switches, auxotrophic chassis, etc.) Note that including such features is not mandatory to participate in iGEM, but many groups choose to include them.  </br> We developed a kill switch that is induced by blue light. This switch is capable of killing bacteria that are accidentally removed from a restricted area - for example a red-light hood – and which are then exposed to daylight in a short period of time. </br></br> 7. What safety training have you received (or plan to receive in the future)? Provide a brief description, and a link to your institution’s safety training requirements, if available. </br> Every team member had to take a course about safe work in the lab. We also have advisors who teach us how to work properly and safely and inform us about safety measures, such as wearing protective clothing. We also plan to implement a disinfection checkpoint that our team members will have to pass when leaving our entering the lab to decrease the chance of contamination. </br></br> 8. Under what biosafety provisions will / do you work? </br> Please provide a link to your institution biosafety guidelines. </br> The institution's biosafety guidelines are the national safety guidelines. ^{<a href=#2001>200.1</a>} </br> </br></br> <h2>B</h2> Does your institution have an Institutional Biosafety Committee, or an equivalent group? If yes, have you discussed your project with them? Describe any concerns they raised with your project, and any changes you made to your project plan based on their review. </br> Our university does not have a committee for biosafety. We are using the guidelines from the central biosafety committee from our federal government. We also work together with our supervisor, discussing our project and to address any safety issues that might arise. </br></br></br> <h2>C</h2> Does your country have national biosafety regulations or guidelines? If so, please provide a link to these regulations or guidelines if possible. ^{<a href=#2001>200.1</a>} ^{<a href=#2002>200.2</a>} </br></br></br> <h2>D</h2> According to the WHO Biosafety Manual, what is the BioSafety Level rating of your lab? </br> Our Biosafety Level is 1. <h2><b>References</b></h2></br> <a name=2001>200.1</a> <a href= http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/index.html#BJNR023400990BJNE001503320>  http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/index.html#BJNR023400990BJNE001503320 </a> </br> <a name=2002>200.2</a> <a href= http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/anhang_iii_34.html>  http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/anhang_iii_34.html </a>";  

content.text= " Safety is an important issue for all of the IGEM teams. Taking care of the health and safety of our teammates is of the utmost importance for us. In our opinion, only a safe lab is a good environment for research and work. On our safety page we would like to give you a brief overview over the precautions we take to ensure a safe work environment in the lab. </br></br> <h2> A </h2> Do the biological materials used in your lab work pose any of the following risks: </br> </br> 1. Risks to the safety and health of team members or others working in the lab? </br> In our lab, we work with E. coli (strain: DH5alpha;XL1Blue;w3110 sspB-; w3110 sspB- LacI-DAS+4;Top10; DH10 Beta). All these E.Coli strains are classified as risk group 1, as they can cause irritation of the skin, the eyes, and the respiratory tract; additionally, they can affect the kidneys. Although our E.coli strains are nonpathogenic, we wear protective clothes and examination gloves to ensure safety. </br> We also use ethidum bromide in our lab, which is toxic and can cause cancer. To minimize the risk of accidental contact with this dangerous substance, we have fume hoods especially designated for working with ethidium bromide. Furthermore, the use of nitrile gloves as well as lab coats is mandatory when we are working with potentially harmful substances and any waste contaminated with ethidium bromide is kept separate from other waste. </br> In addition, every team member had to take a course about biosafety and regulations in Germany (as required in §8-12 of the GenTSV, the German act of genetic engineering). </br></br> 2. Risks to the safety and health of the general public, if released by design or by accident? </br> There is little risk to the general public, since our bacteria strains are nonpathogenic and in general do not cause harm to humans. And yet, the contact of an immunocompromised person with our bacteria strains could lead to health issues. </br></br> 3. Risk to the environment, if released by design or by accident? </br> Since our bacteria and genetic parts are non pathogenic and the light induced protein degradation is not a threat to the environment, there is minimal risk to the environment if our (modified) bacteria were released . In addition, our lab is equipped with a special air conditioning system which maintains a slight low pressure environment in the lab and thus prevents the air from inside of the lab from getting out when the doors are opened. The risk of (genetically altered) bacteria being released by accident is therefore reduced. </br> </br> 4.Risks to security through malicious misuse by individuals, groups, or countries? </br> The risk of malicious misuse can never be completely eliminated. Although there are cameras around the campus as well as other security installations, an element of risk remains. If our project was stolen and our bacteria were released, the risks for the public would be minimal, since our bacteria strains are nonpathogenic and our project mainly deals with the light-inducible degradation of proteins, which is hardly dangerous. </br></br> 5. If your project moved from a small-scale lab study to become widely used as a commercial/industrial product, what new risks might arise? </br> Since our light-inducible degradation system is mostly thought to be applicable in restricted areas (labs, bioreactors) the risks are low. Of course, any industrial application of our system should mot be designed without additional fail-safes to ensure multiple layers of safety. </br> One possible “risk” of our project is inherent to any other biological system; namely, that mutations in our device's gene sequence lead to unforeseen consequences. We assume that it is most likely that a mutation in our device will lead to the device's failure, i.e. leading to an accumulation of the protein that is supposed to be degraded. Whether this poses merely efficiency problems or more serious biosafety risks depends on the specific application and should be considered by persons responsible for implementing that instance of our technology. </br></br> 6. Does your project include any design features to address safety risks? (For example: kill switches, auxotrophic chassis, etc.) Note that including such features is not mandatory to participate in iGEM, but many groups choose to include them.  </br> We developed a kill switch that is induced by blue light. This switch is capable of killing bacteria that are accidentally removed from a restricted area - for example a red-light hood – and which are then exposed to daylight in a short period of time. </br></br> 7. What safety training have you received (or plan to receive in the future)? Provide a brief description, and a link to your institution’s safety training requirements, if available. </br> Every team member had to take a course about safe work in the lab. We also have advisors who teach us how to work properly and safely and inform us about safety measures, such as wearing protective clothing. We also plan to implement a disinfection checkpoint that our team members will have to pass when leaving our entering the lab to decrease the chance of contamination. </br></br> 8. Under what biosafety provisions will / do you work? </br> Please provide a link to your institution biosafety guidelines. </br> The institution's biosafety guidelines are the national safety guidelines. ^{<a href=#2001>200.1</a>} </br> </br></br> <h2>B</h2> Does your institution have an Institutional Biosafety Committee, or an equivalent group? If yes, have you discussed your project with them? Describe any concerns they raised with your project, and any changes you made to your project plan based on their review. </br> Our university does not have a committee for biosafety. We are using the guidelines from the central biosafety committee from our federal government. We also work together with our supervisor, discussing our project and to address any safety issues that might arise. </br></br></br> <h2>C</h2> Does your country have national biosafety regulations or guidelines? If so, please provide a link to these regulations or guidelines if possible. ^{<a href=#2001>200.1</a>} ^{<a href=#2002>200.2</a>} </br></br></br> <h2>D</h2> According to the WHO Biosafety Manual, what is the BioSafety Level rating of your lab? </br> Our Biosafety Level is 1. <h2><b>References</b></h2></br> <a name=2001>200.1</a> <a href= http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/index.html#BJNR023400990BJNE001503320>  http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/index.html#BJNR023400990BJNE001503320 </a> </br> <a name=2002>200.2</a> <a href= http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/anhang_iii_34.html>  http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gentsv/anhang_iii_34.html </a>";  

content.type="Project";  

content.type="Project";