Team:UST Beijing/Safety

All UST_Beijing team members were trained through safety courses in summer, including Lab Safety, Hazardous Waste Management, Fire Safety, Biological and Pathogens and Recombinant DNA. These courses provided a comprehensive overview of lab safety.

So when in the lab, we followed standard lab safety practices to prevent contamination or injuries. Wearing gloves, goggles, and lab coats; Disinfecting the workspace; Following chemical safety procedures; Maintaining a neat and well organized work environment; Using bleachs to sterilize cultures after use; No food and drink in the lab (Safety Form).

Environment safety

The microorganism used in our lab includes E.coli BL21 and E. coli DH5α used for DNA transformation. At the end of their use, all microorganisms are disposed of by inactivation by addition of bleach. The handling of this organism was done in sterile and controlled conditions, and presented little immediate danger.

Our samples were either stored in sealed centrifuge tuben in the cold room, in -20 centigrade freezer, or were bleached. All chemicals used during the experiment were disposed of in appropriately labeled waste containers located around the lab.University of Science and Technology Beijing has a solid waste management system which complies entirely with biological and chemicals disposal requirements.

So our experiment will not produce risk to environment and human.