Public Awareness
Safety And Ethics
At IISER Mohali, we are committed to following biosafety protocols from the bottom-up. The institute’s Bio-safety Committee oversees the provisioning of labs with adequate safety facilities. Dr. Ram Yadav is the member secretary of the Bio-safety committee at IISER Mohali, whose approval has been sought at each stage of our project. Few of the lab safety practices adopted at IISER Mohali based on rules implemented by the committee include:
• Safe handling of chemicals, glasswares:
Usage of fume hoods to minimize the inhalation of chemicals that generate harmful vapours. Gloves, lab coats, safety glasses, and shoes are compulsory to wear while handling any chemical or doing any experiment.
• Biosafety
Most of the biological agents used in the Department of Biological Sciences are non - pathogenic. No BSL3 or BSL4 labs are currently present in the institute. Accordingly, only risk level 1 and 2 organisms are handled, the latter with extra safety precautions such as bio-safety cabinets.
Proper clothing norms are adopted while working and the access to certain working places like the animal housing SAFE (read below) are only allowed to specific members and entry for anyone else is prohibited. Such working places are kept properly insulated to avoid leakage of any potentially harmful substances including biological agents like viruses!
There is a Small Animal Facility for Experimentation (SAFE) at IISER Mohali. Established in 2015, small laboratory animals are bred for research and education. The animals bred therein are used for experiments strictly as per the protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC).
• Laser labs
Labs working with lasers take special precautions like using IR blockers, safety glasses as mandatory while doing experiments. Also, the rooms with lasers are kept dust free to avoid contamination with dust, etc. Lasers need high voltage, hence are properly grounded and the personnel working with lasers always wear shoes while operating the lasers.
• Waste disposal at IISER Mohali
To mitigate the environmental burden caused by ongoing work in the labs, the waste is segregated depending upon the nature of waste before disposal. Waste from Biology laboratories are collected in special yellow bags, autoclaved and only then, discarded. Any harmful compound containing waste is collected separately in black bags and processed as per the requirements. The plastic or glass wares of the waste are collected by the appropriate companies and then treated for further usage. Various chemicals and media from all labs are neutralized (for example, via bleach treatment) before disposal.The disposal of animal waste from the Small Animal Facility for Experimentation (SAFE) is done as per guidelines provided by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
• Pertaining to the project
The principle organism (DH5 alpha strain of E.coli) and all parts being used come under a risk level 1 classification, which are white-listed by default. DH5 alpha being a dependent micro-organism (for synthesis), will fail to thrive in an external environment, part of the containment strategy. Further containment is ensured through the use of a 0.2 micron filter paper which is permeable to atmospheric gases, but not the bacteria. The co-cultures to be used will fall either under a risk level 1 or 2 classification. Any remaining causes of concern can be incinerated, along with device (the method of disposal)!
We realize that the implications of our work go beyond safety, namely ethical, legal, and social issues. For the same, the institute’s Bio-ethics Committee, Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC), and Institutional Animal Care and Usage Committee (IACUC) have been constituted. They include not only members from IISER Mohali, but also those from other institutes like IMTECH, PGI, NABI, etc., that are well versed in human practices.
No animals (or their parts) have been used/harmed during the construction of our device. Every step of the project has satisfied requirements from within the institute as well as legal requirements from the government. Having been designed by humans for humans, much thought has gone into gECO’s acceptability in society.
Awareness Activities
With an aim of creating awareness among people, following activities were carried out by the iGEM team members:
Awareness session for pollution control and waste management conducted by team members at Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Mandi Village, New Delhi, 110047 on 23rd September 2017. 10:00 Hrs IST.
During this session, children were told the very basic steps that can be taken at the individual level that can be taken by anyone to contribute towards pollution control and waste management. It was an event worth learning from as students too gave a few innovative ideas to deal with the environmental problems being faced by the society particularly as a part of the way onto development by countries like India.
A slum survey was done and people living there were given guidance to lead a healthy life. The details of the same are as written below:
Time and Date: 17:30 Hrs - 20:00 Hrs on 07-10-2017 and 17:30 Hrs - 19:00 Hrs on 08-10-2017 Place: Jagatpura, Beside Sector 48-C, Chandigarh (30.679218, 76.756539). The team members met 5 families and 2 cluster joint families consisting of 6 nuclear families each. It was found that:
 |
 |
 |
 |
All of them settled temporarily and most of them had no identity proof.People settled there were from different states - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Punjab.No sanitary facilities were available in their settlements. All went for open defecation near the drainage that passed through the slums.No waste disposal mechanism was provided. Large piles of plastic were seen everywhere.Except two families that alternatively used gas, all others permanently used wood as fuel for Cooking food.Wood, used as fuel, was mainly procured from nearby woodland and waste grounds. While some said they picked the dry, dead branches, others axed out fresh trees and dried them in their localities.Also we were told that whenever they came to know about any clearing of forests for industrial purposes by the government, they picked up wood from there in masses.During winters, even those who use gas, shift to wood burning as they don't want to spend their money on heaters and electricity.
| Number of members | Wood used |
|---|---|
| Family of 5 (1 adult and four children) | 2 kg |
| Family of 2 (2 adults) | 5 kg |
| Family of 3 (2 adults and 1 child) | Alternatively gas and wood (No figures) |
| Family of 7 (2 adults and 5 children) | 15 kg |
| Family of 4 | Alternatively gas and wood (No figures) |
| Cluster family | 15 kg per family |
| Cluster family | 10 kg per family |
Gas was filled at the rate of Rs. 50/Kg. Despite government distribution of free gas connection, most of them did not register and it was attributed to the lack of address proof. On being asked about the government scheme Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, they said that the number of people using wood as fuel has fallen a lot. It was found that nearby government toilets charged Rs. 5 for one instance and it was even unknown whether the ones collecting money are instructed to do so or not.
We told the people about the issues with using wood as fuel, about the breathing problems it can lead to in a long run and also about the pollutants released in the environment as a consequence of such practices. Also we told them about the problems with open defecation since it leads to mixing of toxic substances and harmful bacteria with the underground water resources.
Awareness Session in School
Awareness session for pollution control and waste management conducted by team members at Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Mandi Village, New Delhi, 110047 on 23rd September 2017, 10:00 Hrs IST.
 |
 |
Plantation Drive
In the view of reducing pollution and at the same time keeping it an interactive social event, we carried out a tree plantation drive. It was carried out in and around the institute campus.
 |
 |
Interactive session with Delhi University students
We have also conducted an awareness program among the Science persuing students of Sri Venkateswara College affiliated to Delhi University.
 |
