thoughts on safety and good lab practice

[Mike Horwath]

After our Tuesday meeting this week, I've been thinking a bit more about what kind of safety practices should be set up.  This is my thoughts right now, it is not meant as a "we definitely need to do it this way!"

I'm thinking of 3 stages

Stage 1:  Food-safe organisms only.  This is pretty much where we are now.  Brewers yeast, kombucha SCOBY, seed bank, etc.  No special PPE is needed, main concern is stopping yourself from contaminating the culture.  Sterile mini-hood would be great.  We can also do many non-living experiments such as PCR, agarose gels, etc.  Any toxic chemicals should be housed appropriately and kept out of the kitchen.

Stage 2:  Biosafety-level 1, non-infectious organisms.  E-coli, fluorescent bacteria or yeast, bio-printing of bacteria, non-human mammalian cell cultures, etc.   We should have basic PPE in place such as gloves and goggles.  Ethanol and bleach should be on hand for sterilizing surfaces.  Any culture media or materials in contact with organisms should be bleached before being thrown out.  There should be a designated BSL-1 area, such as a separate room, or a plastic "tent" like Matt was discussing.   Wash your hands every time when entering and exiting.  Culinary organisms should be handled and stored separately.

Stage 3 (optional):  Biosafety-level 2:  Allows handling of human samples and moderately infectious organisms.  For example, we could culture people's snot and see what bacteria they have up their nose.  Bringing in BSL-2 level organisms should be approved on a case-by-case basis, for example HIV is technically BSL-2 rated but would not get approved.  Need safety training, professional laminar flow hoods, better PPE, professional biohazard waste disposal, and an outside inspector to check things.

Another consideration is "release" of new GMOs.  For example, if a member creates a green fluorescent yogurt yeast, are they allowed to take that yeast culture home, share it, or even sell it?  I think starting out we should say no---"if it's made in the space, it stays in the space".  This is partly a legal issue, partly an ethical one.  The policy could later be changed if people want to work through the issues.

Also, check out "Ask a Bio-safety Expert" at http://ask.diybio.org/

Mike

[Susan S.]

I have access to PPE if in fact we need it. I will be at the next meeting and then I will have a better understanding of the setup.