Team:ETH Zurich/Safety

Safety is a prerequisite for any research project implemented either in academia or in industry. ETH Zurich values the importance of safety for the research being conducted in the institute. For this reason, an internal Department of Safety, Security, Health and Environment is organized to provide all the necessary information to the students and employees of ETH Zurich regarding safety.

Brochures, lectures and podcasts are also used in order to make the personnel aware of the safety rules and to enhance accident prevention. Specifically, our team attended a Facility and Lab Safety instruction before starting any experimental work. The lecture was held by Mr. Niels Buerckert, who is the Technical Manager and head of the D-BSSE Safety Committee. The topics covered safety practices and regulations in the lab. In a separate course, two of our team members had the opportunity to get practical experience on the usage of a fire blankets and a fire-extinguishers, putting out a real fire. As far as the biosafety measures are concerned, all iGEM team members got familiar with the safety practices for BSL- 1 and BSL-2 laboratories. Some of the topics covered were:

proper clothing (lab coat for BSL-1/2) and accessory equipment (gloves and goggles)
proper disposal of BSL-1 and BSL-2 waste
handling of liquid waste containing heat resistant antibiotics (e.g. kanamycin)
handling of hazardous chemicals
actions in case of chemical or biological contamination

For more information visit Our human practices page