Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Academic Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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EB 2001 - Laboratory and BioProcess Safety and Ethics

3 lecture hours 0 lab hours 3 credits
Course Description
This course provides basic knowledge of laboratory and bioprocessing safety and hazards including safety regulations, potential hazards and hazard analysis methodologies, personal protective equipment, elementary toxicology, good laboratory practice, and engineering controls. The course focuses on how to accomplish regulatory compliance, minimize hazards, and reduce the severity of any incidents that may occur in a laboratory or a bioprocessing facility. Ethical questions connected with the impact of the sciences and engineering are discussed in terms of global applications. This course must be passed in order to be part of any biomolecular lab experiments and senior design projects. (prereq: sophomore standing)
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  • Recognize potential hazards in the laboratory and manufacturing settings and learn how to avoid them by utilizing safety measures including basic guidelines of proper laboratory and large-scale practice and engineering controls, as well as picking up and using the appropriate kind of personal protective equipment properly 
  • Use MSDS to obtain information about potential material toxicity and appropriate safety measures
  • Research the information in regard to the safety guidelines and regulations to comply with them
  • Apply safety measures in the design and performance of biomolecular engineering experiments and large-scale bioprocessing
  • Apply various methods of hazards analysis to bioprocessing
  • Recognize the impact of the work of the biomolecular engineer on the environment and on society, as well as potential ethical questions connected to this work and be prepared to discuss them in a professional manner, supported by related professional organizations’ guidelines
  • Recognize the need and value of life-long learning in regard to the safety and ethical problems in the continuously developing field of biomolecular engineering
  • Recognize the hazards associated with the physical, chemical, and biological products and processes designed by biomolecular engineers
  • Recognize the role of safety in various aspects of bioprocess design and operations
  • Apply various methods of hazards analysis to bioprocessing
  • Identify design considerations for various unit operations and production facilities for safe design and operation
  • Analyze process hazards using a suitable methodology

Prerequisites by Topic
  • None

Course Topics
  • Introduction and guidelines
  • General laboratory safety rules
  • Personal protection equipment
  • Protection layering
  • Use of laboratory equipment
  • Physical, chemical, fire, electrical, and radiation safety and hazards
  • Chemical safety data sheet
  • Biological safety and hazards
  • Biosafety guidelines
  • Good microbiological techniques
  • Engineering controls
  • Safe experimental design
  • Safety regulations:  institutional, local, and national
  • Need for bioprocess safety, past incidents
  • Overview of the bioprocessing industry
  • The bioprocess lifecycle
  • Bioprocessing safety management practices
  • Identifying bioprocess hazards
  • Hazard analysis methods
  • Bioprocess design considerations
  • Bioprocess unit operations
  • Risk management and emerging technologies
  • Selected regulations
  • Large scale biosafety guidelines
  • A generic biosafety checklist
  • Biological assessment questionnaire
  • Bioprocess facility audit checklist
  • Life-long learning
  • Ethics in the workplace
  • Ethics in research
  • Paper discussions
  • BioE lab tour
  • Group work
  • Speakers

Coordinator
Dr. Eryn L. Hassemer



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