Safety

Overview

Safety is a major area of concern for both students and professors at OSU, especially as a team whose project focuses on inactivation of bacterial pathogens using bacteriophages. In this safety review we will demonstrate the ways in which we safely worked within a lab, and share the training in which we learned important lab safety skills.

Performed Safety Skills:

These are safety practices used while working in the lab, as well as those taught by the professors whose labs we worked in. All the procedures that involve bacterial and phage culture were conducted in a BSL-2 certified laboratory at OSU. Biohazardous wastes were properly disposed of according to OSU Institutional Biosafety Committee approved protocols.

Safety Skills Safe Practices
Handling Bacterial Cells
  • Wearing proper PPE
  • Washing hands
  • Avoiding splatter
  • Proper micropipette technique and hygiene
Handling Organic Solvents
  • Used as a cleaning agent
  • Proper PPE
  • Proper Handling
Use of a Bead Bath
  • Proper use to avoid burns
  • Proper use and procedure
Operating Autoclave
  • Proper procedure to avoid burns and pressurized steam
Working in Fume Hood
  • Use of an aseptic zone to avoid cross contamination or unintentional exposure
Working with Live Phages
  • Wearing proper PPE
  • Washing hands
  • Avoiding splatter
  • Proper micropipette technique and hygiene
Use of the Fluorimeter
  • Proper use and procedure
  • Use of proper PPE
Making Growth Media
  • Proper procedure and handling to avoid contamination
  • Wearing proper PPE
Basic Lab Equipment Maintenance and Management
  • General upkeep to avoid mechanical failure or injuries
Accessing Stocks in Deep Freezers
  • Proper use to avoid burns
  • Proper storage of materials

Formal Training

These are courses or classes in which members of our team learned proper procedures and safe practices for working in the lab. All members must pass the online exam with a minimum 80% to obtain a certificate of completion.

Initial Biosafety Training for Staff/Students (CITI Program):

Biosafety Course Overview

A simplified overview of the course content covered in other modules

Risk Management: Work Practices

Discusses how to reduce the risk of exposure in a lab setting through proper procedures

Work Safely with Sharp Instruments

Describes how to safely work with sharps, as well as proper disposal

Disinfection and Sterilization

Teaches when and how to disinfect contaminated items, as well as sterilization methods and procedures

Risk Management: Personal Protective Equipment

Describes the various PPE available for work in a lab, as well as proper procedures for common PPE such as gloves

Risk Management: Engineering Controls

Describes how to further reduce the risk of exposure in a lab through the use of engineering controls

Centrifuge Precautions

Teaches safe practices for use of a centrifuge, as well as maintenance and disinfection for a centrifuge

Lab Chemical Safety - Research Lab Faulty, Staff, Students, and Volunteer (CITI Program):

Fundamental Concepts of Laboratory Chemical Safety

Introduces the basics of every subject covered in subsequent modules

Chemical Storage and Segregation

Discusses the general precautions for storing chemicals, and the potential hazards of storing reactive chemicals together

Teaches proper labeling and organization of a chemical storeroom

Emergency Planning

This module discusses how to be prepared for an emergency situation, as well as how to avoid an emergency situation, and the steps to take after an emergency

Chemical Fume Hoods

This module teaches how to properly use a chemical fume hood and the different types of chemical fume hood that are available

Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

Describes how to identify any hazards within a lab, and how to mitigate the risks associated with those hazards

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) When Using Hazardous Chemicals

Describes the various PPE available for work in a lab, as well as proper procedures for common PPE such as gloves

Laboratory Waste Management

This module discusses the responsibility a laboratory has to properly dispose of waste, and the different methods of doing so

Transporting Hazardous Chemicals

This module discusses the proper transportation practices of hazardous chemicals

Chemical Security

This module describes the different government agencies and regulations for certain classifications of chemical, and how to follow these regulations

This module also discusses proper security measures to ensure that chemicals can only be accessed by trained persons

Compressed Gas Cylinders

This module teaches the proper storage, use, and maintenance of a compressed gas cylinder

In-Person Bloodborne Pathogens Class:

This is a mandatory class for all of our members who will be working in the lab. The material of the class includes an overview of potential bloodborne pathogens we may encounter in a lab, or in day-to-day life, and how to properly handle biological material to avoid exposure.