Safety

General Safety

Safety regulations and rules are key to ensure that what we do as scientists are safe for ourselves, colleagues and equally important to the environment and human society. Therefore, it is very important to have safety in mind from the beginning of a project. All aspect of the work has to be considered including how to handle chemicals, bacterial strains and other high risk compounds e.g snake venom and blood.

Most of the work has been performed in class 1 GMO approved laboratory according to the Danish legislation governed by the Danish Working Environment Authority [1]. The classification allows for work with GMO that posses no to low risk.

In regards to general laboratory safety rules the following was mandatory;

1. - Non authorized personnel is allowed in the laboratories
2. - Wear laboratory coats at all times
3. - No eating or drinking
4. - No cell phones

When working with GMO the main focus from a safety perspective is to detain the organisms from entering the non classified areas. Therefore, waste management and decontamination of surfaces is a vital part of safe GMO laboratory work. At the department responsible for our laboratory the waste policy states that all solid waste should be disposed of in designated biohazard waste bins. Also, liquid biowaste should be collected in designated containers and when the container is full then be handled as solid waste. When the biohazard waste bag is full it is closed and thrown in the biohazard waste bin. The biohazard waste bin itself is sealed then decontaminated with 70% ethanol and ready for destruction. All work surfaces in the laboratory is likewise decontaminated with 70% ethanol before and after every session.