Team:Shanghai United/Safety
Safety
Basic Safety Requirements
All personal items were stored in a separate meeting room and were not allowed to be brought into the laboratory, with the only exceptions being a notebook and a writing utensil.
Latex gloves, masks, and lab coats were required before entering the laboratory and must be worn when remaining in the area. Said types of equipment must be taken off and stored inside the laboratory before leaving the lab.
All used materials must be discarded in designated medical waste containers. Latex gloves and masks were changed timely.
All team members were expected to learn the evacuation routes of the building. In case of an emergency, members must be evacuated through these routes.
Equipment Precautions
Centrifuge:
The centrifuge must be balanced when used: when a test tube is being centrifuged at a specific slot, another test tube with approximately the same mass must be placed at a complimentary slot.
The metal lid of the centrifuge must be locked onto the rotation plate for protection in the event of a test tube being ejected at high velocity from the plate.
Alcohol burner:
A burner must be lit by matches or fire starters. A lit burner must not be used to light other burners.
A burner must be put out by its lid, and must not be put out through blowing or other means.
A burner is considered a fire and therefore must be handled with care.
An alcohol burner should not contain more than one-third of alcohol to prevent any fire risk.
Micropipettes:
Micropipettes that are purposed for RNA and DNA must be distinguished to avoid contamination.
Micropipettes must not be held upside-down; failure to do so may result in contamination and damage to the equipment.
Micropipette tips are single use only, and must not touch any potentially contaminated surfaces.
After using a micropipette, the equipment must be adjusted to its maximum volume to preserve the equipment.
Water bath:
Water baths must be used when filled with water. Failure to do so may result in fire hazards.
Other precautions
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all members were tested prior to entering the laboratory; only members with negative tests were allowed in.
Microbes Safety
In this project, we only use a safe and common lab strain, Escherichia coli DH5-α, and strictly follow the rules to conduct experiments under the supervision of our instructor.
