The lab that we work with, Biocurious, is equipped with several safety measures that aim to keep all occupants of the labs safe. All of the safety precautions that are used in Biocurious are in accordance with the federal biosafety levels. We have access to an eyewash station, masks, spill cleanup kits, fire extinguishers, and a biosafety cabinet. This ensures that if an accident is to occur, we are able to properly handle it.
At our lab we take measures to remain as safe as possible, as we are ultimately responsible for our own safety. All Biocurious occupants also are properly equipped with PPE including gloves, lab coats, and close-toed shoes to provide a basic level of protection from hazardous chemicals.
Further specific PPE including heat resistant gloves and face shields are available and used when contact with additional hazards are anticipated.
All items stored in the lab are labeled with the name of the creator, the chemical, the date made, and any potential hazards the chemical may pose. For disposal we autoclave or bleach live bacteria before disposing of them. The lab also provides a disposal bin for glass and a biohazard waste disposal bin.
While initially we considered directly filtering microplastics from ocean water using our genetically edited bacteria, we were concerned about potential release of our bacteria into filtered water.
To address the safety concern, we modified our intended implementation to use already filtered microplastics from groups like Seabin and Polygone. This allows for use of traditional wetlab containment techniques such as heat and alcohol based sterilization prior to removal of any materials from a lab facility, minimizing the release risk.