Team:Bristol/Safety
Safety features of our project design
The real world implementation of our BREATHE pods provides a unique situation where the general public will be walking next to cultures of E. coli during their day to day activities. The street-side location of our pods makes them particularly vulnerable to damage, from vandalism, traffic incidents and extreme weather to name a few examples. It is therefore our responsibility to reduce the risk of the general public coming into contact with the E. coli inside our pods, and to reduce the harm done if this does occur.
Using lab-dependent Top10 cells provides a primary level of protection.
Our pods should:
- • Be leak proof
- • Be shatter-proof
- • Be impact-resistant
- • Have nearby hand sanitizer dispensers
- • Be high up to reduce risk of impact (where this would not severely impair functionality)
We have considered other environmental, ethical and safety implications of our project on our Integrated Human Practices page.
Safety in the lab
The following safety procedures were followed in the lab:
- • Ethidium bromide was handled only when wearing gloves. All ethidium bromide waste was disposed of in sealed containers or in specific bins.
- • Any glassware which touched ethidium bromide was rinsed, and the water detoxified.
- • Suitable PPE was worn at all times when handling molecular biology reagents: lab coat, gloves, closed shoes.
- • All work handling E. coli was conducted using aseptic technique.
- • Gel extraction for purification of PCR products was conducted in a dark room, wearing UV resistant eye protection and with all skin covered.
