UNL 2018 Improving Early Detection of The Emerald Ash Borer

Safety

Safety is very important to the UNL iGEM team. Safety is not just important in the lab, but also for the intended release environment of the genetically engineered machine. Last year, our team fully outlined our idea for what we like to call “Safety Cases”. This is a shift in the way we think about the assurance of biological systems. We are looking to create a deterministic framework of the possible failure points of these genetic circuits to account for incidents such as, plasmid conjugation, DNA mutations and their effect on the system, accidental release, and (due to the complexities of chemical/ biological systems) many more unknown possibilities. As the field of synthetic biology increases in popularity and the barrier of entry decreases, the need for more comprehensive computational models of possible incidents will certainly be required.

Inspiration:

As talked about in our team's previous project, the idea for these “Safety Cases” comes from a similar practice in software engineering. This system assurance framework has been used in many other safety critical systems. One of these major fields is aviation; where a simple software bug could possibly cause a large system failure. These problems with software engineering stem mostly from the complexity of the system being created. We see this complexity also increasing in the “programming” of organisms.

Application:

A useful next step in the full production of this safety case framework is a application that can take part safety information from a database that could tell the user where the system could possibly fail using our proposed safety case notation. This year we were able to begin development on a online application that can take this safety assurance information and create a graphical map. Here is the link to the live website.

Figure 1 shows the safety case created on this website pertaining to our team’s project last year.

Figure 1. iGEM unl 2017 Nitrite Reductase Safety Case

We were also able to share this website with other teams and have them complete their own chart (Figure 2). For this we allow them to display our collaboration badge on their wiki.

Figure 2. UIUC illinois Mischief Managed

iGEM 2018 Badge

Future Considerations:

We hope in the future that we can expand the use and knowledge of not just the safety case format, but also the ability of computational tools to analyze these biological systems for possible failures.

Software Page

General Safety

For lab safety, we wore the following at all times while in the lab:

Safety Goggles
Fire Resistant Lab Coats
Closed-toed Shoes
Latex Gloves

Additionally, there was at least one biowaste bin in every room of the lab where biohazardous materials or disposable materials that came in contact with biohazardous materials were disposed of properly, separate from other waste. Other items that came in contact with biohazardous material were sterilized and reused. In addition, well marked eye-wash and shower stations and fire extinguishers were included in each room. Also, there were MSDS pages as an online resource that included safety precautions for each chemical found in the lab.

Every team member had to receive lab safety training through UNL's Environmental Health and Safety(EHS) services. We took a total of 6 safety modules including a Biosafety Level 1 course before we were allowed to work in the lab. All modules that required a quiz to be taken had to be completed with 80% proficiency. The modules are listed down below.

EHS#1: Core - Injury and Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP) -- The Injury and Illness Prevention Plan module is required for all employees who get a paycheck from UNL. There is a quiz following this module. You must pass with an 80% score to complete the module successfully. This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete. You will need to provide your NU ID number to register.

EHS#2: Core - Emergency Preparedness Training -- It is recommended that you complete this Emergency Preparedness module AFTER you have taken the Core-Injury Illness and Prevention Plan (IIPP) training module. There is a quiz following this module. This module requires approximately 45 minutes to complete. You will need to provide your NU ID number to register.

EHS#3: Chemical Safety Training (four individual units) -- Unit 1: OSHA Standards, Safety Data Sheets, Labels, and Door Postings
Unit 2: Physical Hazards of Chemicals
Unit 3: Health Hazards of Chemicals
Unit 4: Hazard Mitigation
Must be completed once by anyone whose work or research may bring them into contact with hazardous chemicals. Note: Units 1-4 replace the Chemical Safety training used through July 2012. This module consists of four units. ALL FOUR UNITS must be successfully completed to meet the requirement. There is a quiz following each unit. If your score is less than 80% on any unit, your registration will not be recorded for that unit. Each unit requires approximately 30 minutes to complete.

EHS#4: Fire Extinguisher Training -- Required once for employees who may opt to use a fire extinguisher. The “Core-Emergency Preparedness” training (#2, above) is a pre-requisite to this course. This course may be taken as a stand-alone unit or as the first part of a two-part training session. Once you have completed the web-based training portion, you may participate in a supplementary hands-on training session. Contact Environmental Health & Safety for more information at (402) 472-4925 or ehs@unl.edu. This training may be replaced by an instructor-led session. There is a quiz following the module. This module requires approximately 30 minutes to complete.

EHS#5 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) -- Must be completed once by anyone whose work or research may require use of PPE (for example, gloves, goggles). This training may be replaced by an instructor-led session.

EHS #6 Biosafety Level 1 -- This training is required of all persons who work at Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1) containment, upon initial assignment to work in a BSL-1 laboratory at UNL. There is a quiz following the module. This module requires approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Team:UNebraska-Lincoln/Safety