Before you begin your work

Before starting work in our labs, you'll need to complete an orientation covering safety, evacuation procedures, waste management, and general guidelines. You can book your orientation at the reception.

You'll also need to sign a form acknowledging that you have read and agree to comply with our safety rules.

You can download the rules here, which should be signed and handed to the Lab Manager.

Below, you have a short instructional video on how to use the thermoregulated rooms correctly.

During work in our labs

Our labs are communal spaces where we share various resources and areas, such as dishwashing and weighing rooms, autoclaves, freeze dryers, and some microscope stations. It's crucial for everyone to contribute to maintaining a clean and organized environment, as well as ensuring fair use of shared resources.

Certain labs and pieces of equipment belongs to the center's permanent researchers and can only be accessed with prior approval. If you're uncertain about the specifics, consult the Lab Manager.

We offer a wide range of instruments and equipment for loan from our storage. Should you require special materials like liquid nitrogen, dry ice, or gases, these can be ordered separately.

If you encounter any issues, need help locating specific items, or experience equipment malfunctions, please contact the Lab Manager.

Specific lab rules

Radioactive Substances

The importation and handling of radioactive substances at Kristineberg are governed by specific regulations, which can be found in the documents linked below. If you plan to work with radioactive substances, consult these documents and contact the Radiation Safety Officer (Lars Ljungqvist) before placing any orders.

Radioactive Lab Regulations (pdf)

Microbiology & GMM

Work involving microbes and Genetically Modified Microorganisms (GMM) is regulated by The Swedish Work Environment Authority (AFS 2005:1 & 2000:5). Local microbiology regulations can be found in the link below. Prior to conducting any lab work or introducing microbes into the facility, a risk assessment must be completed. If you are unfamiliar with this process, consult the Microbial Safety Officer (Lars Ljungqvist) or the Microbial Advisory Person (Maria Asplund).

Microbiology & GMM Regulations (pdf)

Risk assessments

To maintain a safe working environment, it's crucial that all lab activities involving hazardous substances undergo risk assessments in accordance with Swedish Work Environment Authority guidelines. You can complete your risk assessment using the KLARA system with a personal login, or you may use another template. The important thing is that the assessment should cover all the criteria outlined in the document below.

Risk Assessment Guidelines (pdf)

Here you'll find all the essential information you need to dive safely and in compliance with current regulations. Please read through everything carefully to prepare for your dive.

Before planning any form of diving at Kristineberg, it's important to contact our Diving Activity Supervisor well in advance. They will provide you with further instructions and issue a diving permit.

The following rules and regulations must be adhered to for all diving activities at Kristineberg, whether for studies, research, or material collection:

• The Swedish Work Environment Authority Statutes - Diving Work (AFS 2010:16)
• Diving rules at University of Gothenburg (pdf)

All diving is voluntary.

Scientific diving

For lighter scientific diving in duty (researchers, visiting scientists, postgraduate students and other staff) the diver shall:

• have a valid professional diving certificate at least in line with Swedish certificate S30 (corresponding to IDSA Level 1) or a European Scientific Diver (ESD) Certificate
• have completed and been approved for diving at a medical checkup according to AFS 2019:3 (pdf, in Swedish) or have an equivalent foreign certificate
• have undergone CPR training within the last three years
• when using any project owned / personal diving equipment, it must be CE marked and comply with regulations from The Swedish Work Environment Authority and have completed service / maintenance by authorized diving company within the past 12 months
• have a certificate from head of department / employer, that the person is trained, approved and insured for the specified diving work

More complex projects (for example dives in water with strong currents, under ice, offshore, at larger depths or where heavy equipment is used) may incur additional competence requirements.

A diving supervisor shall plan and, at the dive site, lead and supervise diving operations. The one who will lead a dive shall be trained at least in line with Swedish diving supervisor S30 (DykL S) or Advanced European Scientific Diver (AESD) but at more complicated tasks, additional skills may be required.

Before and after the dive

Before the dive a written Dive plan and Risk assessment shall be carried out by the diving supervisor. This shall be archived.

After the dive, dives shall be logged in the digital dive journal of the University of Gothenburg. To get access to the dive journal, contact diving activity supervisor. The diver is also responsible for dive documentation in his/her private logbook.

A dive team at scientific diving / work diving shall consist of at least 3 persons; a diving supervisor with at least DykLS or AESD certificate, a diver and a standby diver, both with at least S30 or ESD certificate. The diving supervisor determines in dive planning / risk assessment, whether more persons should join the dive team to carry out the dive safely.

Any diving incident shall be reported in the system för incident and deviation management (IA), which employees at the University of Gothenburg find in the Staff portal. Others shall contact diving activity supervisor. Report form as pdf can be downloaded from this web page.

To find out more about scientific diving in Sweden, you can go to the Swedish scientific diving committee and in Europe the European scientific diving panel.

Diving within education

When diving as part of university studies, training and skills development, the diving supervisor determines what previous skills is required for the individual dive. According to Diving regulations at the University of Gothenburg, the diver performing diving within education shall:

• have a minimum level of proficiency of CMAS**, PADI Rescue Diver or equivalent certification level for scuba divers
• have completed and been approved for diving at a medical checkup according to AFS 2019:3 (pdf, in Swedish) or have an equivalent foreign certificate
• have undergone CPR training within the last three years
• if using any personal diving equipment diving equipment, it must be CE marked and comply with regulations from The Swedish Work Environment Authority and have completed service / maintenance by authorized diving company within the past 12 months

The smallest diving team within education consists of 3 persons; a dive supervisor with at least DykLS or AESD certificate, the person undergoing the training and a diver with a minimum of S30 or ESD certificate. The diving shall be planned and documented as scientific diving.

Recreational diving

Recreational diving is an opportunity for students and staff to experience the environment they work in. It can also promote training to become a scientific diver. The centre has no responsibility for what staff and students do in their spare time but work at centre often means spending leisure time there. At leisure time you are allowed to rent boats and use diving facilities or compressor, if you have the required skills. The diver should then:

• have a minimum skill level of CMAS**, PADI Rescue Diver or equivalent certification level for scuba divers
• be able to show a valid declaration of health / medical examination according to recommendations from SSDF or another educational system
• have undergone CPR training within the last three years
• if using personal diving equipment, you must present service certification of the equipment according to recommendations from manufacturer
• have a diving included leisure time accident insurance
• conduct dives according to Svenska sportdykarförbundets (SSDF) diving practice

Snorkelling

Snorkelling can be used for observations and lighter work in marine environment.

• If snorkelling only at the surface, an observer in a boat or on shore is enough, and if risk of boat traffic an alpha flag should be used.
• Snorkelling should always be done in pairs having visual contact; this means that one person should constantly be in the water and observe the snorkelling person.
• When snorkelling only normal weight load is permitted and you must not perform work involving risk of entangling.
• Snorkelling is permitted to a maximum depth of 10 metres and not deeper than the Secchi depth.
• No snorkelling may take place at water temperatures below 4 °C or in strong currents.

An ethical permit and specific education are required for researchers to work with vertebrates or cephalopods within the EU. These are granted by the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

Training

In order to conduct research on captive animals, or handle animals in the wild for research purposes, Statens jordbruksverks föreskrifter och allmänna råd om försöksdjur (2019:9) requires a person to be trained accordingly. This Laboratory Animal Science (LAS)-education is starting to get streamlined within the EU, and within Sweden, all university students and staff undergo the same training. When you have passed your LAS-education, you are also eligible to apply for your own ethical permit to conduct research on vertebrates.

Application

In order to obtain a permit to perform animal experiments on vertebrates (usually fish) and cephalopods (octopuses) at Kristineberg, an ethical application needs to be written and submitted to an animal welfare committee. Studies on animals that are carried out at Kristineberg Center are validated in the Gothenburg Committee for Animal Ethics.

The application for a permit for an animal experiment costs SEK 15,000. Normally, the work of writing an application is also time consuming, and depending on how advanced the experiment is, can take over a week of full-time work, in addition to meetings with the supervisor and veterinarian for consultation. Prior to the consultation, the application must also be checked, and normally the manager and the responsible veterinarian need to plan this in their schedules. If the application is not approved by the board, this will be postponed to the board's next meeting, one month later. This is not uncommon, and must be considered in your planning. The Gothenburg Committee for Animal Ethics have their meetings to approve applications once per month (but not in July).

Please be advised that the work can not start until the ethical application has been approved. Therefore, plan to submit your application well in advance of the start of your intended experiment, and leave space in your schedule so that you can deal with any revisions the board might require from you. We recommend that you contact Kristineberg Center’s animal manager at least 5 months before arrival at the station.

The application is written and submitted through the Swedish Board of Agriculture's e-service. Since the experimental leader must be linked to the station's activities, the application also needs to be made in dialogue with the laboratory animal manager.

For further information about permits and the application process, contact our Laboratory Animal Manager, see information at the top of the page.

We recommend the following schedule:

Five months before arrival:

You have undergone LAS-training. You contact the manager to plan your application. Contact information is available at the top of this page.

Four months before:

You have finished writing a completed application, consultation with the manager and veterinarian takes place and you start to edit it according to their recommendations.

Three months before:

You send your application to the board, within about a week you will be called to a committee meeting where questions about your application from the board's evaluation group are handled. The evaluation group then takes up your application for a vote at the Gothenburg Animal Experiment Ethics Committee.

If your application is rejected or postponed, you have in this situation the opportunity to edit it so that it can be processed again at the next meeting.

One month before the experiment:

You have an answer as to whether or not your application is approved and you can carry out your experiment at the station.

An approved permit is valid for five years. Changes to it can be made by applying to the board again for a lower fee (6,000 SEK).