Team:NDC-HighRiverAB/Safety
Safety
Our Goal
The goal of our project is to breakdown fatbergs and fat build ups throughout wastewater treatment systems. Our bacteria will produce Est A, which is an enzyme that breaks the ester bonds between glycerol and fatty acids. This takes place through a hydrolysis reaction.
Possible Risk of our Bacteria to People and the Environment
The bacteria we are using is a strain (K 12) of Escherichia coli called DH5alpha. This bacteria is also our chassis organism. If the bacteria gets out into the environment, it is unlikely to survive as it is a lab strain. The genes that we have added to produce esterase pose no threat to humans as far as we know. If it gets out into the environment it could have an effect on the ecosystems in the outflow site where the water is dropped off in the final step of water treatment processing. As well, it could interfere with the bacteria already in the system that are helpful for the treatment process. At this point in time we do not intend to add it directly to the current wastewater treatment system, but have it contained in a separate container.
Possible Safety, Ethical and Security Risks Involved with the use of our Project.
Safety Risks
- Bacteria contacting human body can cause health issues
- Interactions with pre-existing organisms could have a negative effect on pre-existing organisms
- We are using antibiotic resistance in our system, which could possibly kill other bacteria
Ethical Risks
- Workers and others involved may be against the genetic modification of microorganisms
- Those involved might be against using this bacteria for human use
Security Risks
We could identify no security risk involved with our project.
Safety Regulations and Training
We are following the Canada Biosafety Potocols. Click the link below to learn more:
Canada BioSafety ProtocolsAll of our lab work complies with the 2018 iGEM safety regulations.
Members of our team have received safety, security and WHMIS training. During safety training we have learned about the following issues.
- Lab access and rules (including appropriate clothing, eating and drinking, etc.)
- Responsible individuals (such as lab or departmental specialist or institutional biosafety officer)
- Differences between biosafety levels
- Biosafety equipment (such as biosafety cabinets)
- Good microbial technique (such as lab practices)
- Disinfection and sterilization
- Emergency procedures
- Transport rules
- Chemicals, fire and electrical safety
Lab Safety
We are working in a high school level lab and thus make sure we are the safest as we can be. We avoid the use of any chemicals that could pose a serious health risk to us and mitigate all risks as thoroughly as possible. Our team is using a risk 1 organism. In the lab, we wear goggles, gloves, and lab coats in order to protect ourselves when in contact with our bacteria. We sterilize lab tables with bleach and use an autoclave to sterilize our tools and equipment. We are planning to place our bacteria separate from the Wastewater Treatment Plant in order to minimize the introduction of foreign elements to the system. Our containment procedures prevent our bacteria from escaping their isolated environment. We are not using a pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli. Our team is not using animals for experimental use. All of our materials can be sterilized and disposed of in the garbage or brought into a waste disposal facility.