Previous - Next
7. Analysis, diagnosis, testing
2. Environmental impacts and protective measures
2.1 Laboratories in general
2.2 Chemical laboratories
2.2.1 Handling of chemicals
2.2.2 Equipment components and construction of apparatus
2.2.3 Structural installations
2.2.4 Waste disposal
2.3 Laboratories using biological agents
3. Notes on the analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts
4. Interaction with other sectors
5. Summary assessment of environmental relevance
The scope of this section covers laboratory work for the sectors plant, animal and industrial production, research, education and health, including the procedures for analysis, diagnosis and testing.
The aim of analysis, diagnosis and testing is to obtain evidence of the presence of substances and organisms, identify causes of symptoms and test behavioural hypotheses. The results lead to the acquisition of additional knowledge, the development of products, assistance with education as well as the management of production processes and quality monitoring. Chemical, physico-chemical or biological methods are deployed analytically, in preparation work and in applications.
Agents and equipment are used in specialised facilities, called laboratories, which are the main focus of this particular brief.
Laboratories are installed in buildings or in parts of buildings, and may also be designed in the form of mobile laboratories. Laboratories may also be installed on board ships. All these facilities provide laboratory apparatus and materials with protection against external elements such as weather conditions, noise, dust, theft etc.
A fully functional laboratory complex will also include the requisite storage areas, rooms for breeding test organisms, sanitary facilities, offices etc. The specific laboratory designation normally refers in the research field to the type of natural science which is mainly applied and in addition to the object of examination or the dominant method used.
Typical aims of laboratory work are:
- acquisition of knowledge, product development
- establishment of assessment criteria
- confirmation of clinical trial diagnoses
- monitoring
- testing to reduce risks
- targeted genetic modifications to vegetable/animal matter
- synthesis of chemical and biological raw materials
- increasing scope of health protection for people, animals and plants and
- promotion of agricultural production.
The method applied is the decisive feature for ensuring that test results can be repeated and are internationally comparable. The choice of method is specified, particularly when tests are required to be carried out for official bodies and authorities (cf. standard operating procedures, SOP or good laboratory practice, GLP).
The results of laboratory work have many different implications in everyday life and economic processes. Methods of monitoring environmental damage and preventing such damage are among the aspects which depend on their properly regulated operation. But laboratories may also be used in an attempt to develop aggressive, harmful research objectives, e.g. the development of biological and chemical weapons.
The technological standard should ensure that laboratories can be operated without any real risks arising. The risk of accidents increases if the equipment, operational and training standards are inadequate.
2. Environmental impacts and protective measures
2.1 Laboratories in general
The following distinctions should be made in terms of environmental impacts: after each heading typical representatives of that particular group are specified by way of example:
Laboratories using dangerous working materials (chemical laboratory)
- agro-chemicals laboratory (soil - plants - fodder)
- pesticide-residues laboratory, formulation control laboratory
Laboratories using biological agents:
- vaccines laboratory, diagnostic laboratory, e.g. microbiological, parasitological laboratory
- veterinary, human medicine laboratory
- genetic engineering laboratory
- animal feed laboratory
(sub-sector in vitro digestion/toxicology)
Laboratories using ionising radiation and radionuclides:
- X-ray laboratory
- isotope laboratory (medicine, agriculture, botany etc.)
The latter sub-sector is not discussed in brief because of its own particular complexity and potential for demarcation.
The aim of environmental protective measures is to avoid or to minimise damage to the health of staff and neighbours, as well as environmental damage. In terms of the design, installation and operation of laboratories this aim means that obvious dangers have to be taken into account by establishing a safety regime incorporating rules of behaviour and protective facilities. The major elements of these are listed below. In organisational terms, in order to monitor safety arrangements and facilities the recommended course of action is to train and integrate one or more employees as safety officers.
The products which are used or created often constitute dangerous working materials (toxic, caustic, irritant, potentially explosive, potentially inflammable, carcinogenic, sterilising, altering genetic make-up) and hazardous to the environment (persistent, accumulate in organisms etc.). Biological agents are frequently able to proliferate at will. Organisms which are specially bred and genetically manipulated possess new characteristics.
In laboratories the staff are the first to be exposed to these risks as a result of contact and immediate proximity. Moreover, environment is affected by emissions into the ambient atmosphere, the release of contaminated water and solid wastes. In general the small quantities involved mean that localised effects are likely. However, this is by no means a general observation; potential risks include toxic effects resulting from the dispersal of substances via surface water as well as the effects of virulent pathogens and ultra-toxic materials, for example, regardless of the original amounts involved.
2.2 Chemical laboratories
In terms of environmental impacts, the main risk emanating from chemical laboratories is the uncontrolled release of materials and an increase in their concentration in the workplace and immediate vicinity until they become a health hazard. This applies to releases during normal operation of the laboratory, although major additional factors are deviations from the applicable regulations, accidents and, in particular, the risk of explosion.
The problem area may be sub-divided into four aspects:
- handling of chemicals,
- equipment components and design of apparatus,
- structural installations and
- waste disposal.
2.2.1 Handling of chemicals
Chemicals are either the materials being examined or they are used as auxiliary materials in experiments. They are used to promote reactions (catalysts), as solvents or as reactive agents.
There are many different areas of risk. Caustic and irritant gases irritate the skin, the mucus membranes and the eyes. Blood, cell and nerve toxins e.g. carbon monoxide, prussic acid and suffocating gases (nitrogen, argon) act by displacing the oxygen in the air. Solvents are normally intoxicating even if they are not toxic or carcinogenic.
Many chemicals release toxic, flammable or highly inflammable gases. Where flammable fluids are concerned, the risk of fire as well as the risk of explosion must both be taken into account.
When working with chemicals delays in boiling are particularly likely when non-agitated fluids are heated and violent reactions from the substances brought together may be expected. In the case of other reactions highly toxic materials are released, such as prussic acid from alkali cyanides and acids or vapours when mercury is handled (in this respect see also Volume III: Compendium of Environmental Standards) (CES).
Substitution of dangerous chemicals by harmless or less dangerous substances is the safest way of obviating the dangers arising from substances which are a health risk. If this is not possible, substances which are harmful to health should be used whenever possible in sealed apparatus. If nonetheless chemicals of this nature have to be handled openly, fume hoods are required.
It is more appropriate to operate extractor hoses in situ where hazardous vapours are formed and are released. The extraction path must lead away from the atmosphere used by staff for breathing. Where harmful substances occur in gaseous form they should be fed through a gas scrubber downstream from the extractor and bonded chemically.
Chemicals must be stored in appropriate containers and these must be marked as appropriate with danger symbols or signs, according to the contents and the risk category. Chemicals should not be stored and kept unnecessarily. Appropriate filling devices must be used to siphon off working quantities.
The appropriate protective equipment (rubber boots, rubber aprons, protective gloves, protective eye wear (goggles), nose masks etc.) must be available for working with acids, lyes and other aggressive chemicals. A major factor in laboratory safety and a precondition for properly conducted operation is a proper inventory and record system for chemicals (initial quantity, quantity used, storage location, separate waste disposal) and equipment.
Young people and pregnant women must not be employed in dangerous areas (e.g. handling carcinogenic substances, mutagens, highly toxic substances etc.).
The requisite protective measures (e.g. eyewash flask, first aid box, fire extinguisher) as well as rules of behaviour must be provided/displayed in the workplace and the procedures practised with staff. Areas of responsibility must be clearly allocated, and plans showing escape routes and safety drills must be on display in appropriate locations. The provision of separate amenities and showers is a precondition for personal hygiene when chemicals which pose a health risk are being handled.
2.2.2 Equipment components and construction of apparatus
The most frequent forms of accident in the laboratory are severe injuries from cuts involving broken or jagged glass. Glass breaks easily under concentrated local pressure and the application of lever forces (an important element for consideration when assessing equipment design). Improvisation in the use of apparatus often results in unpredictable reactions. Inadequate supports and incorrect fixings induce tensional forces and the collapse of parts or the entire piece of apparatus. When equipment breaks dangerous substances can escape and fires can easily occur. Hollow vessels made of glass are still frequently used for the insulation of coolants despite the risk of implosion; in this context the only vessels which should be used are hollow steel vessels fitted with a protective covering or highly insulated.
Equipment made of glass must be checked to ensure its integrity before use. Unsuitable pieces of apparatus, improvised equipment and cracked glass equipment must not be used. Apparatus must be properly secured and free of tension and may only be deployed in locations which are protected against external influences.
In order to prevent excessive pressure apparatus must be fitted with a pressure equalisation system relative to the external atmosphere. Reactions under high pressure may only be performed in suitable, undamaged pressure vessels. If there is any risk of exceeding the permissible operating temperature or the permissible working pressure, the test reaction must be suspended immediately.
Vacuum operations in glass equipment must only be conducted in suitable equipment. Apparatus containing combustible or thermally unstable substances may not be heated directly with an open flame. It must be possible to remove heating and cooling baths without dismantling the apparatus.
Gases are problematical in the laboratory since they easily escape from their containers and capable of forming toxic and highly combustible gas/air mixtures. The extractor system is not normally designed for large quantities of toxic and other gases. And if they are merely released, all that happens is that the problems are transferred from the laboratory. Potentially explosive gas/air mixtures may be formed when combustible fluids are being distilled and extracted. Ignition can easily result from electrostatic discharge.
Refrigerators without an air extraction system are not suitable for storing combustible fluids. In the case of many organic solvents peroxides form when air is added. These unconcentrated substances are enhanced in distillation residues and then cause major explosions.
Substances which give off combustible gases or vapours when dried may only be dried in explosion-proof drying cabinets. Combustible fluids must be stored separately from each other in explosion-proof refrigerators.
Accidents involving pressure gas cylinders may have appalling consequences. Accidents of this sort may be expected, for example, if fittings are installed and operated incorrectly, if the main release valve is stuck and is then forced open, or if the pressure gas flask is overheated and overturned. Pressure vessels can explode; this risk applies particularly to vessels which have already been overloaded, corroded and damaged or when temperatures are excessive as well.
Pressure gas cylinders must be stored outside the laboratory or in well-ventilated containers which are insulated against heat. If technical conditions do not allow the laboratory to be supplied via a high-pressure pipe, pressure gas cylinders may only remain in the workplace for the period they are in use.
Pressure gas cylinders must be chained so that they do not overturn during transport and while in use. Toxic and corrosive gases should only be used in the laboratory in small pressure cylinders which must be located directly under an extractor hood when in use.
Moving parts in a piece of apparatus can catch clothing, hands and hair and can destroy pieces of equipment. Specially designed equipment is frequently unsafe due mainly to electric shocks from the equipment and power cables.
Electrical equipment must be in perfect working condition. For adaptation to situations prevailing in different countries the power supply to the laboratory must be given special protection against fluctuating voltage and mains failures. Costly analytical processes with many individual stages are increasingly being replaced by complex pieces of apparatus. Some of these processes have become the international standard. They are capital-intensive and complex in terms of maintenance and the provision of spare parts.
Where complex pieces of apparatus are involved, there must be a system for guaranteeing constant monitoring and maintenance (on-site servicing).
2.2.3 Structural installations
Small fires can spread to easily inflammable building materials. Building materials used are also frequently non-resistant to chemicals. Floor coverings or plastic casings tend to accumulate a static charge (ignition factor).
Hazardous substances can easily escape into the environment via air and water discharge pipes, especially if waste water is fed directly out into surface water. Simple waste water treatment plants are not able to deal with pollution caused by specific substances.
The outside world can be protected against dangerous side-effects by a more or less sealed enclosure depending on the characteristics of the various barriers and inlet and outlet pipes. In mobile laboratories particular care must be taken to ensure that laboratory waste is not discharged into the soil or subsoil, that laboratory effluent is not discharged into the groundwater system. Laboratories should not be established in drinking water catchment areas or in built-up areas. They should be constructed so as to resist earthquakes and other seismic disturbances. To comply with fire safety regulations fire resistant building materials must be used in laboratories. Lightning protection is also required.
Laboratory and storage rooms must be designed as walk-in sumps (5 - 10 cm deep) and may not be connected to the mains sewage system. Laboratories require a separate waste water collection and treatment system. Flooring and work surfaces must be resistant to chlorinated hydrocarbons and acids and must be easy to clean. Power and other supply lines must be secured against the effects of accidents and clearly labelled. Electrical installations must be specially protected (e.g. against sparks).
In the tropics and sub-tropics direct sunlight leads to major heat problems in certain people and substances (spontaneous ignition when poured), and it can also cause greenhouse and lens effects. Lack of air and poor ventilation impair breathing. Lack of windows, poor lighting and closed doors have an adverse effect on eyesight and visual recognition. Laboratory work is adversely affected by noise and vibrations in equipment. If these conditions are permanent, effects on general psychological well-being are normally evident, the ability to concentrate is diminished and accidents constantly occur.
Laboratories in the tropics and sub-tropics require protection against the sun, good ventilation and, if appropriate, air conditioning.
Basic safety and other provisions must be guaranteed at the workplace (lighting, control of temperature, ventilation, safe, unimpeded emergency exits etc.). Technical measures must be given precedence over the use of personal safety equipment. Safety devices must be inspected regularly to ensure proper operation (emergency sprinklers, CO2 fire extinguishers, first aid boxes).
2.2.4 Waste disposal
Laboratory waste consists of solids or fluids. Dangerous waste gases can be bound into fluids. Dust in stale air can be retained by filters (fluid and solid waste).
Where the products of reactions, filter residues and rinsing fluids are concerned, the products in question are normally dangerous chemical wastes, which in Germany have to be declared as special waste. Its disposal requires special monitoring equipment. Such waste presents a potential risk to the environment (soil, water, air), and hence also to human beings, animals and plants. Damage to materials and health results from explosions, fire or poisoning, particularly in the case of incomplete reactions, unprofessional storage and during transport. Fluid waste and gases can react in an unpredictable manner (due to accumulation of gas, heat, contamination).
Rational purchase and deployment of chemicals as well as regular stock control can reduce the accumulation of waste in the laboratory from the outset. All waste must be disposed of in an orderly fashion in order to prevent personal injuries, material damage and damage to the environment. This necessitates collecting laboratory waste, avoiding emissions and using appropriate chemical reactions to combine the minimum possible quantities of waste with other substances to convert them into harmless compounds. Acids and lyes must be neutralised, solvents can be recycled. Toxic substances in particular must not be disposed of with waste water but collected separately.
Organic solvent waste must be collected in unbreakable vessels holding a maximum of 10 litres. Heavy metal salts, filter and pump residues, used oil and chromo-sulphuric acid must all be collected separately. Spent mercury can be treated as a resource and removed for reprocessing.
Waste must be packed in the laboratory and marked. Documentary records must be kept of each disposal.
Staff must be trained in how to reduce waste and how to handle it safely. Compliance with the appropriate regulations must be monitored.
2.3 Laboratories using biological agents
The latter sub-sector is not dealt with as part of this brief on account of its complexity and autonomous nature.
Microorganisms, living cells, cell compounds and genetic components which can be replicated are used in the laboratory for the following purposes, among other things:
- deployment or monitoring of organisms
- isolation of biologically active substances
- conduct of bio tests
- diagnosis
- genetic engineering
- improvement in reproductive techniques.
These aims are served by the production of nutrients and live agents, the control of biological systems for the decomposition of substances, the exploitation of interaction between organisms (symbioses etc.) and the propagation of pathogenic agents and viruses in order to study their behaviour and means of controlling them.
The main risk involved in handling biological agents in the laboratory derives from the possible contamination of laboratory staff and infection of people, animals and plants outside the laboratory. In addition, damage is caused by the spread of new plants and animals to a particular region (new harmful organisms at the margins).
Protective measures are designed to prevent the release of pathogens, pests and poisons. They cover the professional execution of the work and subsequent disposal of waste.
New genome elements which can be replicated and produced by genetic engineering, as well as their vectors and host organisms, may embody a particularly potent risk, depending on their new characteristics. Not enough is yet known about the chances of survival of genetically altered organisms and other pathogens in the natural ecosystem. Once they have left the laboratory, circumstances may arise which render them uncontrollable or even irretrievable. This is an area in which new threats to the environment arise which cannot yet be fully ascertained. The requisite biological safety systems are still being elaborated and tested.
When handling genome elements which can be replicated it is very important to select host organisms and vectors on the basis of safety criteria. Pathogens can be replaced under certain circumstances by anti-pathogenic organisms in the same categories. Vaccination of laboratory staff is required in the case of certain pathogens. Biological waste from laboratories must be rendered harmless by burning or sterilisation.
The use of vectors for the transfer of haploid gene components is critical, particularly if these haploid genes are inadequately characterised, the specific host is not defined and the vectors chosen have their own transfer system as well as a high co-transfer rate and mobility.
Experiments on animals should be restricted to the greatest possible extent and care must be taken to ensure that laboratory animals are properly looked after.
If personal protective gear and laboratory safety devices are inadequate the handling of harmful organisms poses particular risks. The risk is that harmful organisms will be disseminated by laboratory staff and from the laboratory itself via wastewater, waste matter and extracted air. Protective devices and sluices can fail.
Effective physical or chemical sluices must be provided when biological agents which are hazardous to health and the environment are handled. In addition the appropriate protective gear must be available such as aprons, gloves, eye protectors, mouth masks ( particularly in the case of spore-forming substances). These measures are effective when combined with the introduction of and compliance with rules of conduct. These include separate storage of work clothes as well as the use of the various auxiliary devices provided. In order to guarantee laboratory safety in general, specific areas must be sealed off and physical barriers installed (closed doors, windows, treatment of extracted air).
3. Notes on the analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts
Analysis and evaluation of environmental impacts are concentrated on routines in the laboratory and external effects. Categorisation defines the sectors as follows:
- adverse effects on life forms (human, animal and plant health) and
- change in composition of species in terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Risk categorisations have already been carried out for many laboratory chemicals and organisms in use (cf. references and environmental brief on health and nutrition). Changes occur in the form of single incidents or accidents and continuous events. The degree of reversibility of processes is significant in terms of the change which occurs.
The Compendium of Environmental Standards (volume III) contains important notes relevant to the assessment of individual substances. As far as pollution in the workplace is concerned, the standards applied in Germany include, for example, maximum workplace concentrations (MAK), maximum immission concentrations (MIK), biological substance tolerances (BAT) and technical guideline concentrations (TRK). There are also additional notes in the German Gefahrstoffverordnung [Ordinance on Hazardous Substances] of 1988 and in relevant publications by the EC and WHO. Note should also be taken of statements made by the US-American Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSMA) which is subordinated to the National Institute of Health.
Particular emphasis in terms of safety of operations is enshrined in the following maxims:
- reliability of the operating unit and of managers and supervisors,
- expertise on the part of managers and those responsible for safety,
- monitoring of general obligations to take proper precautionary measures, record them and prevent risks,
- guaranteed compliance with safety measures according to the most up-to- date scientific and technical standards, thereby minimising the risks,
- compliance with international agreements in respect of bans on chemical and biological weapons research and proliferation,
- compliance with general government safety and environmental regulations issued in the country where the laboratories are operated and recommendations which complement and exceed these regulations (comparison of international standards).
4. Interaction with other sectors
Laboratories operate in all areas of agricultural production, environmental monitoring and health care. Operational strategies in these areas often depend on the due and proper operation of these laboratories.
In terms of protection against risks to health and the environment from the operation of laboratories themselves, there are very close interfaces with the following sectors:
- plant production (in agriculture and forestry)
- plant protection, livestock farming
- veterinary services, animal protection
- fisheries and aquaculture
- health and nutrition
- disposal of hazardous waste
Assessment is based on expert professional knowledge in these areas. The assessment has consequences for the sectors of chemistry, biology, construction of laboratory equipment and structural engineering.
5. Summary assessment of environmental relevance
Analysis, diagnosis and testing are discussed with reference to laboratories using dangerous substances and those using biological agents.
Direct environmental impacts result from the construction and operation of laboratories on contact with dangerous substances and organisms. The health of staff can be affected by dust, chemically active agents (solids, liquids, gaseous matter), toxins, physical effects (pressures, blows, the effect of heat, electrical current) and by pathogens. The environment is affected by emissions of synthetic chemical substances produced and organisms via spent air, wastewater or waste materials.
The direct risks presented by a laboratory reside in the interaction of substances and organisms with defective containers, unsuitable equipment components and incorrect equipment assembly, as well as operating faults and inadequate safety measures.
Concrete predictions on the environmental impacts of laboratories and corresponding protective measures are only possible in the light of a precise knowledge of the structural engineering condition (protective and disposal installations) and the agents and equipment used.
Demarcation of laboratories as structural units and organisational entities enables the risks to health and the environment to be appraised and minimised by the combined effects of personal responsibility on the part of laboratory staff with staged external control and monitoring.
A General Papers on the Theme
Bretherick, L. 1981: Hazard in the Chemical Laboratory. The Royal Society of Chemistry, London.
BAGUV (Ed.) 1983: Richtlinie für Laboratorien (GUV 16.17), Munich.
Berufsgenossenschaft der chemischen Industrie - (BG Chemie - employers’ liability insurance association of the chemical industry) 1985: Gefährliche chemische Stoffe. Merkblatt M 051, Jedermann-Verlag Dr. Otto Pfeffer oHG, Heidelberg.
BG Chemie 1987: Umgang mit gesundheitsgefährlichen Stoffen. Merkblatt M 050, Heidelberg.
Fuscaldo, A. A., Ehrlich, B. J., Hindeman, B. 1980: Laboratory Safety, Theory and Practice. Academic Press, New York.
Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker [GDCh-society of German chemists] 1987: Sicheres Arbeiten in chemischen Laboratorien, Einführung für Studenten. BAGUV series of papers on theory and practice of accident prevention. Verzeichnis der Literatur zur Sicherheit im Laboratorium und zu den Gefahreneigenschaften chemischer Arbeitsstoffe.
Henschler, D. (Ed.) 1988: Gesundheitsschädliche Arbeitsstoffe. Toxikologischarbeitsmedizinische Begründung von MAK-Werten.
National Research Council, USA 1983: Prudent Practices for the Disposal of Chemicals from the Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
OECD, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris 1991. Guidelines for Development Assistance Agencies on Chemical Management.
Roth, L. 1990: Wassergefährdende Stoffe (Loose-leaf series).
Rudolph, P. and Boje, R. 1990: Ökotoxikologie: Grundlagen für ökotoxikologische Bewertung von Umweltchemikalien nach dem Chemikaliengesetz. ECOMED, Landsberg. p.7: Zur Prognose der Umweltgefährlichkeit.
Walters, D.B. 1980: Safe Handling of chemical carcinogens, mutagens, teratogens and highly toxic substances. Ann Arbor Sciences - Ann Arbor, Michigan.
World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Europe 1986: Behandlung gefährliche Abfälle. Grundsatzrichtlinien und Verfahrenskodex. Copenhagen (Europäische Schriftenreihe Nr. 14).
B Papers on specific issues
BG Chemie 1988: Biotechnologie (VBG 102). Sammlung der Einzel-Unfallverhütungsvorschriften der gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften. Cologne.
BG Chemie 1989: Besondere Schutzmaßnahmen in Laboratorien. Merkblatt M 006, Jedermann-Verlag Dr. Otto Pfeffer oHG, Heidelberg, pp 40 - 43: Verzeichnis der Vorschriften, Regeln und andere Schriften.
BG Chemie 1989: Sichere Biotechnologie, Teil 2: Laboratorien. Ausstattung und organisatorische Maßnahmen. Merkblatt M 056, Jedermann-Verlag Dr. Otto Pfeffer oHG, Heidelberg, pp 52 - 54: Verzeichnis der Vorschriften, Regeln und andere Schriften.
BG Chemie 1989: Sichere Biotechnologie, Teil 3: Betrieb, Ausstattung und organisatorische Maßnahmen. Merkblatt M 057, Jedermann-Verlag Dr. Otto Pfeffer oHG, Heidelberg, pp 64 - 66: Verzeichnis der Vorschriften, Regeln und andere Schriften.
BG Chemie 1990: Sichere Biotechnologie. Einstufung von biologischen Agenzien: Viren. Merkblatt B 004, Jedermann-Verlag Dr. Otto Pfeffer oHG, Heidelberg, pp 56 - 59: Verzeichnis von Vorschriften, Regeln und andere Schriften.
BG Chemie 1990: Tierlaboratorien. Merkblatt M 007, Jedermann-Verlag Dr. Otto Pfeffer oHG, Heidelberg, pp 52 - 57: Verzeichnis der Vorschriften, Regeln und andere Schriften.
Bosselmann, K. 1987: Recht der Gefahrstoffe - rechtsvergleichender Überblick. Berlin.
Deutscher Druckbehälterausschuß (German pressure vessels committee (DBA) 1985: Technische Regeln. Druckgase - Allgemeine Anforderungen an Druckgasbehälter, Betreiben von Druckgasbehältern (TRG 280), Carl-Heymann-Verlag, Cologne.
DIN 12 924 Teil 1: "Abzüge für Allgemeingebrauch".
DIN 29 924 Teil 2: "Abzüge für besondere Zwecke" (Umgang mit Perchlorsäure, Schwefelsäure und Flußsäure).
Mejer, G.J. 1984: Zur Meßtechnik einschließlich Tracermethoden bei der Bestimmung der Wirkstoffkonzentration am Arbeitsplatz. In: Landbauforschung Völkenrode, Nr. 68, pp 40 - 44, Völkenrode.
Rinze, P. V. 1990: Abwasser aus Hochschullaboratorien. HIS-Kurzinformationen Bau und Technik B2/90, pp 12 - 14.
Schmutnig, R. 1990: Umsetzung der Gefahrstoffverordnung im Hochschulbereich, Grundlagen der Meßverpflichtung. HIS-Kurzinformationen Bau und Technik B2/90, pp 14 - 17.
Stratmann, F. 1990: Sichere und wirtschaftliche Entsorgung von Sonderabfällen in Hochschulen. HIS-Kurzinformationen Bau und Technik B2/90, pp 3 - 12.