Sanitation Care with less risk for human and environment

In hospitals disinfectants are routinely used to prevent infections. As a matter of fact their applica-tion serves as a sanitary measure. However, disinfectants themselves show certain characteristics, which are dangerous to human beings and environment. The continuous contact with disinfectants may cause allergies and asthma, as shown by various studies. Moreover, disinfectants in waste wa-ter may affect the performance of sewage treatment plants or persist in the aquatic environment. Appropriate measures enabling a comparative assessment of these hazards arising from disinfec-tants have not been available until now. Within the scope of the project "ÖkoKauf Wien " the mu-nicipality of Vienna financed the development of an user-friendly and convenient evaluation scheme, which enables the purchasing department and/or sanitation commissioner of hospitals to select those disinfectants from the market supply, which pose less risk for hospital staff, patients and environment. The Inter-University Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture (IFF/IFZ) in Graz developed an instrument, which can be used to assess and compare (eco)toxicological and human health characteristics of antimicrobial active substances and commer-cial disinfectants. Evaluating antimicrobial active substance