Even if you do not consider yourself a scientist in the true
sense of the word, I’m sure that we can all admit to at least one science
experiment going awry. I can think of a
few situations that I may have gotten into during my high school science
classes. While not a science experiment
per say I do recall the eyeball of the frog I was dissecting launching itself
halfway across the room, and another situation where (much to the dismay of my
chemistry teacher) my science partner and I learned the hard way how to
properly mix acids and water. Let’s just
say there was an incident…but the classroom did not have to be evacuated.
sense of the word, I’m sure that we can all admit to at least one science
experiment going awry. I can think of a
few situations that I may have gotten into during my high school science
classes. While not a science experiment
per say I do recall the eyeball of the frog I was dissecting launching itself
halfway across the room, and another situation where (much to the dismay of my
chemistry teacher) my science partner and I learned the hard way how to
properly mix acids and water. Let’s just
say there was an incident…but the classroom did not have to be evacuated.
If you cannot recall fond memories of high school, college
or university classes, then at the very least I think we can all attest to
having forgotten some leftovers or other food items stuffed at the back of the
fridge only to find weeks or month later that you’ve unwittingly created a science
experiment. It happens at work all the
time. So much so that we get emails every month asking us to check the fridges
for any food we may have forgotten to eat or take home. I won’t name names, but there are some repeat
offenders. They know who they are and
now they know I know……
or university classes, then at the very least I think we can all attest to
having forgotten some leftovers or other food items stuffed at the back of the
fridge only to find weeks or month later that you’ve unwittingly created a science
experiment. It happens at work all the
time. So much so that we get emails every month asking us to check the fridges
for any food we may have forgotten to eat or take home. I won’t name names, but there are some repeat
offenders. They know who they are and
now they know I know……
But what happens when accidents happen in the “real” world,
meaning in actual laboratories? I think
many of us can recall a couple of news stories where biosecurity breaches or
lapses occurred. If not, let me remind
you. Do you recall the case in Atlanta
when several vials
of smallpox were left unattended in an unused storage room? How about the time that there was a temporary
closure of laboratories (also in Atlanta) due to potentially infectious
live anthrax samples being exported to labs that were not equipped to handle
them? Better yet, the accidental
contamination of a relatively benign flu sample with the dangerous H5N1 bird
flu strain???
meaning in actual laboratories? I think
many of us can recall a couple of news stories where biosecurity breaches or
lapses occurred. If not, let me remind
you. Do you recall the case in Atlanta
when several vials
of smallpox were left unattended in an unused storage room? How about the time that there was a temporary
closure of laboratories (also in Atlanta) due to potentially infectious
live anthrax samples being exported to labs that were not equipped to handle
them? Better yet, the accidental
contamination of a relatively benign flu sample with the dangerous H5N1 bird
flu strain???
The truth is mistakes happen. Unfortunately the ones that I’ve highlight
above could have had very dire consequences.
This highlights the importance of following biosecurity guidelines when
handling specimens and also understanding how to properly decontaminate the
areas after potential exposure during a breach in biosecurity. Most importantly, it highlights the need how
to properly manage a lab environment on a day to day basis. Certainly we hear of the scary stories that can be sensationalized in the news cycle, but every
day there are lab technicians working with samples (human or animal) helping to
identify a disease or the cause of an illness.
Everyday there are people working in environments such as cancer clinics
compounding chemotherapy agents that also need to be handled with care.
above could have had very dire consequences.
This highlights the importance of following biosecurity guidelines when
handling specimens and also understanding how to properly decontaminate the
areas after potential exposure during a breach in biosecurity. Most importantly, it highlights the need how
to properly manage a lab environment on a day to day basis. Certainly we hear of the scary stories that can be sensationalized in the news cycle, but every
day there are lab technicians working with samples (human or animal) helping to
identify a disease or the cause of an illness.
Everyday there are people working in environments such as cancer clinics
compounding chemotherapy agents that also need to be handled with care.
To highlight the importance of biosecurity and cleaning and
disinfection within the lab setting our monthly education campaign “What’s
Growing in Your Lab?” focuses specifically on everything you need to know
to keep a safe and clean environment. I
hope you’ll check it out!
disinfection within the lab setting our monthly education campaign “What’s
Growing in Your Lab?” focuses specifically on everything you need to know
to keep a safe and clean environment. I
hope you’ll check it out!
Bugging Off!
Nicole
