STB-Austria Peter Dornhackl eU supports the efforts of employers in the areas of occupational safety and health protection.The amendment of the Limit Value Control Ordinance (GKV-2018) has imposed additional duty of care on employers.We offer a wide range of tests and measurements. Through our portfolio expansion, consistent training and further education of our employees and the purchase of the latest measuring and testing equipment, we can guarantee our customers legal certainty in the areas mentioned.

With the TVOC and AQI extensions mentioned above, our customers also meet the extended requirements of ISO 45001. Measurements in accordance with the VDI 6022 specifications for air conditioning systems and hygiene tests of HVAC systems round off our portfolio.

Assessments of volatile foreign substances in interior spaces are fundamentally faced with the problem that a complex mixture, often very variable in time and space, must be assessed. In addition, there is insufficient toxicological data available for many substances, particularly data obtained from humans. In addition, possible synergistic effects of their effects are difficult to estimate. Against this background, the TVOC value concept (TVOC, total volatile organic compounds) can be used as an assessment option.

In principle, a TVOC concept is not based on toxicology and therefore cannot be used directly as a criterion for assessing health effects. However, it offers the possibility of assessing the overall situation and then searching for sources or examining individual substances.

Based on the available results of various studies, it is assumed that at concentrations below 200-300 µg/m³, no health problems such as irritation or impairment of well-being are to be expected. Above 25,000 µg/m³, headaches and other neurotoxic effects are possible. In the concentration range in between, impairments or effects are possible if there are interactions with other exposure parameters.

Clear dose-effect relationships cannot be derived from the studies conducted to date with TVOC mixtures. However, the increase in concentrations also corresponds to an increase in the likelihood of complaints, particularly sensory impairments.