Austrian Standards Research Articles

Disinfection of Drinking Water by UV Irradiation: Basic Principles - Specific Requirements - International Implementations

The quality control of UV drinking water disinfection has made an enormous progress in the last decade. The better understanding of the process and the higher quality assurance of the UV disinfection plants has increased the acceptance of UV drinking water disinfection. Three UV water disinfection standards were internationally developed by the USEPA, the German Association for Gas and Water and the Austrian Standards Institute. The quality assurance of safe UV water disinfection is based on 3 main prerequisites: the knowledge of the UV resistance of health related microorganisms transmittable by water, to set a sufficient high UV fluence, the careful evaluation of commercial UV plants and the control of the UV irradiation process during practical application by means of defined alarm points and a calibrated UV sensor, which allows checks against official specifications. Here we describe the basic principles of the validation of UV drinking water systems and point out the specific differences between the three international UV disinfection standards with regard to validation.

The New INTA High-Range Standard Humidity Generator and Its Comparison with the Austrian National Humidity Standard Maintained at BEV/E+E

A EUROMET collaborative project has been set up between Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (INTA) and E+E ELEKTRONIK Ges.m.b.H, the two designated laboratories of the Spanish and Austrian National Metrology Institutes, Centro Espanol de Metrologia (CEM) and Bundesamt fur Eich- und Vermessungswesen (BEV), respectively. The objective of the project is to provide INTA with a new standard that covers the dew-point temperature range from − 27°C to +90°C with a gas flow up to 5 L· min−1 in the “two-pressure” mode, extended to 95°C when operated as a continuous flow “single-pressure” generator, and investigate the importance of the enhancement factors in the uncertainty estimations used in support of the participants’ calibration and measurement capabilities (CMC) (The CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement, http://www.bipm.fr/en/cipm-mra/). The equivalence of the Spanish and Austrian national standards is also to be evaluated, further supporting the outcomes of the Key Comparisons, in which both have already participated. The preliminary results obtained to date are reported and discussed in the context of the project and the consistency of the declared CMC’s.

Lung Function and Occupational Dust Exposure

ISEE-222 Objective: Legally binding limit values of dust exposure at the workplace in Austria are relatively high compared with those in neighboring countries. Material and Methods: Routine lung function data of 994 Austrian workers exposed to dust were examined. In Austria stone work is very common with high quartz exposure (501 workers). Welding fumes at industrial workplaces also cause a high dust exposure (379). All other workers (114) were exposed to various other or mixed sources of dust and served as the control group. Although enterprises are controlled for their compliance with the limit values, monitoring data for dust exposure were not available for all workers. But from visual inspection it was known that the exposure of most of the workers in the “quartz exposure group” was very high and likely approaching the limit values, followed by the group exposed to the welding fumes. No internal nonexposed control group was available. Therefore, lung function data were compared with the Austrian standard values that are based on routine testing of healthy volunteers. Results: For all parameters investigated (FVC, FEV1, and MEF50) the workers performed significantly poorer than the Austrian standard. The difference from the standard increased with increasing duration of the dust exposure. This increase was significant for the total group for MEF50 even after controlling for smoking (no smoking - light smoking <20 cigarettes/d - heavy smoking). When the 3 groups of exposure were compared, the quartz group had the poorest lung function values (P = 0.02 for MEF50) followed by the welding fumes group (n.s.). Smoking significantly reduced all 3 parameters with a significant interaction between strong smoking (compared with nonsmokers) and quartz exposure (compared with all other exposures). Conclusions: Current Austrian limit values are not protective against chronic damage of the respiratory system. The combined impact of cigarette smoke and high concentration of mineral dust (quartz) is especially dangerous.

Investigation of 15-year-old municipal solid waste deposit profiles by means of FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis

Five profiles of a 15-year-old bank containing over three weeks composted municipal solid waste were characterized by means of different parameters habitually applied in waste management (loss on ignition, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, NH(4)-N, pH), and in addition by humic acid determination, FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis. Stabilization processes are revealed by humic acid contents. Over the 15 year period organic matter had developed in various ways. Highest humic acid contents were found at 0.5 m below the surface. Below 1.0-1.5 m anaerobic conditions dominated causing a strong decline of humic acid concentrations. Despite similar contents of organic matter at 0.5 m and at 3.0 m organic matter quality differed. These differences were verified by infrared spectroscopic investigations and thermal analyses (differential scanning calorimetry DSC). The spectral pattern of 15-year-old profile samples (municipal solid waste including the biogenic fraction) was compared to current municipal solid waste and abandoned landfill materials. Current municipal solid waste samples comprised different degradation stages from fresh materials to stabilized waste, suitable for landfilling according to Austrian standards. Municipal solid waste originating from abandoned landfills closed in the seventies represented stable material. Principal component analysis was performed to detect similarities and differences. It is evident that the profile samples constitute a particular group in between municipal solid waste and abandoned landfill material. Some differences can be attributed to the divergent composition of municipal solid waste in the eighties when the organic fraction was not separated. Otherwise, landfill materials from the seventies with the same composition regarding the organic fraction were deposited together with construction waste. Heat flow curves (DSC profiles) of municipal solid waste, representing different decomposition stages, illustrate the development of enthalpies and reveal the status of the profile samples. It is evident that mechanical-biological pretreatment leads to a faster stabilization of waste organic matter.

Reconstructing basic ideas in geometry—an empirical approach

“Basic ideas” (or “fundamental ideas” etc.) have been discussed in mathematical curriculum theory for about forty years. This paper will centre on the hypothesis that this concept can only be applied successfully by using it as a category for the analysis of concrete mathematical problems. This hypothesis will be illustrated by means of a sample problem from the Austrian Standards for Mathematics Education (“Bildungsstandards”). In this example, basic ideas are used in a content matter analysis which takes students' solutions to the problem as a starting point for the creation of a potentially substantial learning environment in trigonometry.

Modern anaesthetic techniques and anticoagulation

SummaryThe many possibilities for anticoagulant pharmacotherapy are constantly increasing. Anaesthetists and pain therapists are confronted with patients being treated with highly effective anticoagulants and/or platelet aggregation inhibitors for coronary heart disease, stroke or peripheral arterial occlusive disease. These patients in particular benefit from neuraxial blockade when undergoing cardiac surgery, revascularisation procedures or amputation. The anaesthetist needs to be familiar with the pharmacology, indications, and adverse effects of the various anti- and procoagulant substances, and to integrate this knowledge into the management concept to prevent haemorrhagic complications.This review presents the basics of coagulation, sites of action of currently-used anticoagulants, and the Austrian standards for performing modern central and peripheral nerve blocks in patients on antithrombotic medication. Preoperative assessment of existing anticoagulant therapy is also very important in general anaesthesia, as this can be used to determine the appropriate procedures for perioperative coagulation management. In order to prevent bleeding complications in patients on antithrombotic therapy, the following questions are addressed and appropriate recommendations given: intervals between administering anticoagulant agents and puncture/removal of catheters or a general anaesthesia and surgery; the choice of local or regional anaesthetic method and of intraoperative coagulation analysis; reversal of anticoagulation in acute situations.

Moderne Anästhesieverfahren unter Antikoagulation

The variety of possibilities for medicamentous anticoagulation is constantly growing. Anesthesiologists and pain therapists are confronted with patients being treated with highly effective anticoagulatory or new antiaggregatory substances due to coronary heart disease, stroke or peripheral arterial disease. Especially these patients benefit from neuraxial blockades when undergoing cardiac surgery, revascularization surgery or amputations. The anaesthesiologist needs an overview concerning pharmacology, indications and side-effects of the anti- and procoagulatory substances and has to integrate this knowledge in the treatment concept to prevent haemorrhagic complications. This review depicts basics of coagulation, sites of action of currently applied anticoagulants and Austrian standards for performing modern central and peripheral nerve blocks under anticoagulatory medication. In general anaesthesia, too, the preoperative evaluation of preexisting anticoagulatory therapy is of high significance concerning the derivation of procedures for perioperative coagulation management. To prevent haemorrhagic complications in patients treated with anticoagulatory agents, recommendations concerning the following questions are given: time intervals between the application of anticoagulatory substances and punction, removal of catheters or general anaesthesia and operation; the choice and performance of the locoregional anaesthesiologic method and intraoperative coagulation analysis method; reversion of anticoagulation in acute situations.

Risk-based definition of zones for land-use planning in snow avalanche terrain

For avalanche applications, the definition of zones for land-use planning typically involves estimates of both return period and impact pressures as functions of position in the runout zone. Since return period is related to expected avalanche frequency and impact pressure is related to consequences if structures are hit, zone specifications imply a risk-based approach. In this paper, the schemes for definition of zones from three countries (Switzerland, Canada, and Austria) are presented and compared from a mathematical, risk-based framework. The comparison reveals that the Swiss standard is the least conservative and the Austrian standard is the most conservative.Key words: risk, snow avalanches, zoning, return period.

German Banks and National Socialist Efforts to Supply Capital and Support Industrialization in Newly Annexed Territories: The Austrian Model

Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte (ZUG) - Journal of Business History is published by Gesellschaft für Unternehmensgeschichte e.V. in cooperation with C.H.Beck. All articles are subject to anonymous peer review.

ASTM standard practice produced for the examination of welds using the alternating current field measurement (ACFM) technique

The majority of countries have their own standards organisations, and these organisations produce documents that have to be complied with whenever manufacture, inspection or verification is to be carried out. In the UK this is BSI, Germany has the DIN standard, Austria has those produced by the Austrian Standards Organization ON and the USA has the American National Standards Institute, ANSI. In some cases there are topics which are not covered by National Standards; these may then be included in European Standards (CEN) or International Standards (ISO). The current status with British Standards is that if there is a CEN document then this has priority over the BSI document. This rule also applies to private company standards ie British Gas and the Electricity Board Standards, ESI. Because of this representatives of these companies have been nominated on to CEN committees through their parent National Standards Organizations, for example BSI to ensure compatibility of standards when they are produced in Europe. Committees consisting of members nominated by their parent NSOs are producing international Standards (ISO) and, once again, an attempt is being made to ensure that these will be compatible with CEN documents. In some cases there are manufacturing routes and inspection techniques that are not included in the range of European and International Standards, and in these cases these have then to be approved by some independent body or organisation. These may be Certifying Authorities such as Lloyds Register, Det Norske Veritas, Bureau Veritas, Offshore Certification Bureau, Germanischer Lloyds, ABS or TUV.

Austria: precautionary blockage of agricultural biotechnology

Austria has interpreted the precautionary principle and Directive 90/220 in a more stringent way than other EU member states. It continues to ban the import of Bt maize despite the Commission’s recurrent warnings. The Austrian standard of GMO risk assessment emphasizes a broad definition of adverse effects beyond a purely technical account of risk, including effects of agricultural practices. Boundaries between plant, seed, food, and feed assessments tend to blur. It asks implicitly for the demonstration of safety and uses organic farming as a normative reference point. The understanding of precaution goes beyond the Danish approach in extensively interpreting the scope of Directive 90/220. This policy originated from the Environment Agency (UBA) and developed out of the division of labour among government agencies. It is in line with the inherent paternalism of Austrian governance as well as with Austrian public sensitivities concerning organic agriculture and food. When public opinion turned hostile to agricultural biotechnology, the Austrian standard became entrenched and led to Austria’s initially lone stance among EU member states.

Requirements for the completeness of ambient air quality data sets with respect to derived parameters

Monitoring and sampling of air quality data is costly and labor intensive. The necessary efforts increase progressively with increasing accuracy requirements. Also loss of data because of instrument break down, data transmission failure, or service and calibrating procedures is more or less unavoidable. Calculation of characteristic parameters like means or percentiles as necessary for information compression and also for comparison with air quality standards do not require complete data sets, since successive primary data like half-hour means are not independent from each other. Emission patterns and periodically reappearing or comparably slowly changing transmission conditions are responsible for autocorrelation of these data. Using air quality data from the Austrian public monitoring networks for various air pollutants (NO 2, SO 2, CO, O 3) over the last decade various patterns of data loss are simulated and used to compute air quality parameters (fractiles, semi-annual means, daily means). The variation interval of these parameters is compared to equivalent parameters resulting from the complete data sets. Furthermore, autocorrelation functions of these data are calculated and discussed briefly. Finally, the applicability of the parameters obtained from truncated data sets for air quality management decisions is discussed and compared to the Austrian standard. The results indicate an error of a few percent — depending on the type of data loss — if these parameters are computed from incomplete data sets up to 50% data loss. Thus reduction of monitoring efforts without substantial loss of information is possible.

Two strategies for advanced nitrogen elimination in vertical flow constructed wetlands

Since 1991 the institute for water provision has run two vertical flow constructed wetlands for domestic wastewater treatment at two farm houses (8 p.e.) in Upper Austria. The systems are designed for elimination of organic compounds and for nitrification which was no problem even under winter conditions. In 1995 two methods were tested to achieve denitrification also in both systems. System A is a one-stage system, system B has two stages operated in series. The approach to the one-stage system consisted in pumping a part of the nitrified effluent from the soil filter back to the settling tank of the influent, where the raw wastewater mixes with the nitrified effluent-water. The approach to the two-stage system B consisted in adding an external carbon source (methanol) into the second, water saturated stage. The research was undertaken during several experimental stages to test the influence of the recirculation ratio (system A) respectively of the feeding (system B; intermittent, continuous, batch). The highest elimination rates could be achieved with system B (dosage of methanol) during experimental stage 1 (intermittent loading four times a day). The mean elimination rates were 82% for Ninorg and 78% for TN. The TN elimination performance of system A was only a little lower (72%). The elimination of COD, BOD5 and TOC was no problem throughout the whole experimental period (effluent concentrations of both systems were well below the Austrian standards).

Two strategies for advanced nitrogen elimination in vertical flow constructed wetlands

Since 1991 the institute for water provision has run Iwo vertical flow constructed wetlands for domestic wastewater treatment at two farm houses (8 p.e.) in Upper Austria. The systems are designed for elimination of organic compounds and for nitrification which was no problem even under winter conditions. In 1995 two methods were tested to achieve denitrification also in both systems. System A is a one-stage system. system B has two stages operated in series. The approach to the one-stage system consisted in pumping a part of the nitrified effluent from the soil filter back to the settling tank of the influent, where the raw wastewater mixes with the nitrified effluent-water. The approach to the two-stage system B consisted in adding an external carbon source (methanol) into the second. water salurated stage. The research was undertaken during several experimental stages to test the influence of the recirculation ratio (system A) respectively of the feeding (system B; intermittent, continuous. batch). The highest elimination rates could be achieved with system B (dosage of methanol) during experimental stage I (intermittent loading four times a day). The mean elimination rates were 82% for Ninorg and 78% for IN. The TN elimination performance of system A was only a little lower (72%). The elimination of COD. BOD5 and TOC was no problem throughout the whole experimental period (effluent concentrations of both systems were well below the Austrian standards).

Diesel fuel derived from vegetable oils, VI: Specifications and quality control of biodiesel

Due to the rising importance of biodiesel as alternative fuel in many countries, it is absolutely necessary to establish standards for the description of the quality of the product. The parameters and the corresponding threshold values defining the quality of rapeseed-oil methyl esters (RME) used as biodiesel according to the latest Austrian standardization (Ö-NORM) are presented and discussed. The difference is distinguished between general fuel parameters, which already exist for mineral diesel fuel, and vegetable-oil-specific parameters, which have to be additionally defined. Correlations between parameters like Conradson carbon residue, sulfate ash and phosphorus content are outlined. Problems concerning the inclusion of parameters, which have not yet been taken up in the Austrian standards, like iodine number and water content, are discussed. In the second part, analytical aspects for the determination of free and bonded glycerol, as well as mono-, di- and triglycerides are described. Well tested methods for the analysis of glycerol and glycerides are presented, including the description of the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Optimal incentives to reduce transboundary emissions: Theory and empirical illustration to sulphur emissions in Austria and (former) Czechoslovakia

The observation that only one out of 14 tons of sulphur compounds immissions in Austria originates from Austrian sources highlights the contribution of transboundary pollution (predominantly from Eastern Europe). Therefore, further abatement in Austria has only a marginal impact but is very costly given the already high Austrian abatement standards. Thus, scientists and politicians conclude that it is in the rich countries' (e.g., Austria, Germany and the Scandinavian countries) own interest to support environmental protection in the former centrally planned economies that are apparently less concerned about environmental harms and risks. However, the proposed policies lead to a crowding out of the recipient country's own abatement investments. In order to mitigate such strategic behaviour, which is possible due to asymmetric information, we apply the principal-agent theory to derive optimal incentives. These incentives are in stark contrast to actual policy proposals, in particular, no subsidy should be paid if the neighbouring and polluting country does not care sufficiently about environment. Indeed, the empirical application shows that only sufficient environmental concern in Czechoslovakia warrants subsidies from Austria.

Measurement of flanking transmission in outer walls in test facilities

In Austrian residential buildings flanking sound transmission in outer walls—designed to ensure good heat insulation—influences the sound insulation between horizontally and vertically adjacent dwellings considerably due to different resonance effects. To carry out research on measures to increase flanking sound insulation and to give data on which calculations on sound insulation can be based, a test facility was constructed where horizontal and vertical flanking sound transmission in outer walls connected to different types of partitions and floors can be measured. The construction of the test facilities is described in detail and results of measurements on different types of typical Austrian outer walls are reported. The measurement results are compared with calculations based on the new Austrian standard.

Proposed Austrian Standards for Blood Pressure Instruments

Proposed Austrian Standards for Blood Pressure Instruments