Team:UGent Belgium/Safety
Safety
Measures in the lab
Wet lab
Our experimental work is done in a GMO class 2 laboratory at the Department Biochemical and Microbial Technology at Ghent University.
The Faculty of Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University, where our lab is situated, has its own facultary Biosafety Committee (only Dutch version of the website available). This committee makes sure the researchers are aware of the International, European and Belgian legal framework concerning biosafety. All activities of this committee take place in close consultation with, amongst others, the facultary Environment, Hygiene and Safety Committee, the facultary Ethics Committee and with some Rectoral Services.
In addition we have committed ourselves to both the national legal and ethical requirements compliance and the international and EU regulation compliance:
- National legal and ethical requirements compliance
Environmental regulation: Decree of the Flemish Government of 6 February 2004 amending the Decree of 6 February 1991 and the Decree of 1st June 1995 “Besluit van de Vlaamse regering van 6 februari 2004 tot wijziging van het besluit van de Vlaamse regering van 6 februari 1991 houdende vaststelling van het Vlaams reglement betreffende de milieuvergunning, en van het besluit van de Vlaamse regering van 1 juni 1995 houdende algemene en sectorale bepalingen inzake milieuhygiëne” - EU regulation compliance
Directive 2015/412/EC amending Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of GMOs into the environment, Directive 2009/41/EC on contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms. Regulation (EC) 1946/2003 on transboundary movements of GMOs, Regulation (EC) 1829/2003, Regulation (EC) 1830/2003 - International regulation
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity (signed by the Community and its Member States in 2000. The Council concluded the Protocol on behalf of the Community through the adoption of Decision 2002/628/EC) The precautionary principle - No. 15 of the Rio Declaration adopted at the 1992 UN Conference on the Human Environment and Development.
Every person who works in one of the labs of Ghent University must know and act according to certain regulations. This means that each team member signed the Laboratory and workplace regulation in which he/she declares to have taken note of these regulations, to have received a specimen of these regulations and to follow to the guidelines/obligations who arise out of these regulations. This also includes always wearing a lab coat, safety glasses and gloves when necessary. Guidelines more specific for working with GMOs can be found in the Biosafety in the laboratory document provided by the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology.
Our lab has its own Lab Manager, Gilles Velghe, who coordinates everything in the lab and is responsible for running the laboratory safely and efficiently. In addition every one of our team got a (bio)safety and waste disposal training before performing our experiments in the lab. This training focused especially on the safe use of ethidium bromide, which we use as dye for DNA detection in gels. During the eventual execution of our experiments, we were supervised by our instructors who made sure we performed everything according to the safety regulations. In our lab, all glass work that has been in contact with biological material is disinfected with bleach and autoclaved before it is re-used, making sure no living micro-organisms are remaining. When applying bleach, we wear gloves as it can cause skin irritation. Also, benches and flows are regularly cleaned with Umonium, a broad activity spectrum disinfectant. Additionally any cultures that leave the lab are tested, in order to prevent contamination of other external laboratories.
Simulation lab
3D-printing lab
Project measures
