Team:Austin UTexas/Safety
Safety!
This year we worked with Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli. These organisms are classified as Risk Group 1 (low risk) according to the DSMZ, a collection microorganism and cell cultures run by Leibniz-Institute. Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli were obtained from the Barrick Lab who ordered them from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC).
When work was done in the lab space, everyone wore gloves, lab coats, and goggles to ensure personal protection from any chemicals, bacteria, and microbes. Additionally, if any accidental emergency were to happen, all members of the team know where safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, emergency shut off valves, eye wash station, etc., are located. Contamination prevention is an extensive part of the lab’s safety—to abide by contamination prevention all waste is disposed of in appropriate waste containers such as liquid waste and solid biohazard waste. Furthermore, to prevent confusion, all laboratory equipment, such as test tubes, and bottles, have labels with proper identification to ensure that accidental usage of the reagents and other media is prevented. All team members also followed general laboratory safety protocols, such as no eating/drinking within the lab space.
