• Question: Does what you do involve any risks?

    Asked by baronschnell28 to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 15 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Panos Soultanas

      Panos Soultanas answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Yes it does. Apart from the obvious risks working with chemicals, fire, electricity, glassware etc sometimes we work with moderately pathogenic bacteria and we need to take special safety measures and follow strict safety procedures. We also work with some radioactivity and we make sure that we protect ourselves from the damaging effects of radiation.

    • Photo: Michael Loughlin

      Michael Loughlin answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Some risks..we have to cover cuts, wear labcoats, wash hands before leaving the lab, don’t eat in the lab…just to prevent the bacteria getting easy access to us. They are what call Category 2 organisms in that they cause disease, but we can treat it
      Category 1 can’t cause disease 3+4 are too dangerous for our lab to use.
      add to that we also use acids, flaming bunsens and so on and well there are risks, but not if you are careful

    • Photo: Mark Travis

      Mark Travis answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Well, we do work with some stuff that you have to be careful of. We work with bacteria like salmonella and listeria, which are the ones that can cause pretty nasty food poisoning. So, we make sure we don’t put our hands in our mouths when we work with them and wash our hands well afterwards!
      Other standard substances we use can be harmful as well, for example simple stuff like acids and some chemicals that can be toxic/irritants. But, as long as we wear appropriate protective cloting (usually lab coat and gloves) and know to be careful of things, everything is fine.

    • Photo: Sarah Burl

      Sarah Burl answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      The laboratory work involves working with HIV and TB and so we have to be very careful to work under strict safety conditions and in isolated rooms and have proper training. We also work with liquid nitrogen where we store our samples which is at a temperature of -180oC. We also have special containers and special protective clothing to wear when working with liquid nitrogen. Some of the big pieces of machinery have to be used in a certain manner or they can be dangerous so we also have good training for all these.
      Being based in the Gambia involves risks of access to healthcare which is why it is important to have good insurance so that if you are very sick then you can be flown back to the UK quickly. However if you get a Tropical disease then you are better being in a place that recognises the disease. I work with lots of medical doctors who work on Tropical diseases so there is always someone who has the expertise right near you. I had malaria last year and it was dealt with very quickly with the correct drugs. I think it would have taken a lot longer to deal withit if I had got it in the UK after travelling from here.

    • Photo: Mark Fogg

      Mark Fogg answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Yes it does. There are risks from all sorts of chemicals, gases, radioactivity, possible broken glass, hypodermic needles etc and I absolutely cannot allow any of the bugs to escape. Everyone in the lab is always very careful, wearing protective clothing, killing ALL the bugs we’ve finished with and using special enclosed chambers to keep everything under control. We have to assess everything we do before we do it, in order to identify all the possible risks. If we didn’t do all this and something goes wrong, we could lose our jobs.

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