Team:Utrecht/Safety
Safety is of paramount importance to every iGEM project. That is why each iGEM team needs to fill in a safety form. This three-part form is designed to ensure that we carefully evaluate the risks that are associated with their project, both during the competition, as well as in the future.
Risk assessment
Part one of the form focuses on identifying the direct risks that a project can pose to the participants, the environment, and society. The most important factors that are used to estimate these risks, are the organisms and parts that are being used during the project. To ensure our own safety as well as of others, we only used the following non-pathogenic E. coli strains: dh5-α, UU1250, pVS88 and VS181. Furthermore, we have no intention to release these genetically engineered bacteria into the wild. By using non-pathogenic strains, as well as not releasing them into the environment, we minimize the possible risks.
Risk management
The second part of the safety form is about the ways that teams plan to handle the risks that they identified in the first section of the form. Team Utrecht took several precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the team, their colleagues, and society. At first, at every moment during experiments, team Utrecht is supervised by PIs or AEOs to monitor safety. In addition, we followed the European Union regulations regarding biotechnology and kept environmental safety in mind by deciding against testing our product outside of enclosed environments
Compliance with iGEM’s rules and policies
The final part of the safety form exists to make sure that each team that participates in the iGEM competition complies with the rules and policies of iGEM. On the 6th of September 2018, team Utrecht successfully submitted their safety form to the iGEM site after it was signed by their PI.