Newsletter Occupational Safety, Environmental and Health Protection 01/2020
In our newsletter you will find, as usual, information covering topics of occupational safety, health and environmental protection. Before we all experienced the consequences of the Corona pandemic, there have been many discussions about how sustainability can be promoted at the TU Dresden. The order of the Environmental Commission has to be changed for this purpose, a catalogue of measures to become more sustainable is being discussed and, last but not least, various activities regarding environmental protection and sustainability were planned in the beginning of this year. Unfortunately, these activities are now dragging on a bit - but of course we are keeping up with the topics. In addition, environmental management inspections and trainings had to be carried out. In the past few weeks, creativity was asked for, and the most important task has been digitising measures and offers. Consultations took place in the form of video conferences and also training courses are now planned as online formats. Actions are moved to the website. One challenge we are currently still facing is a new mode for the required on site inspections which is usually an appointment with a larger group of people. But we are sure that we will soon find a solution for this
We hope you enjoy reading our newsletter - and stay healthy!
Contents
Student Projects, Initiatives and Events
Sustainable Campus
Kestrel boxes at the Fritz-Förster-Bau
In the course of the construction work at Fritz-Foerster-Bau, a kestrel box was installed in the tower of the central building. Since the roof works are finished now, the box could be opened. Now kestrels can move in. Already in 2018 a box has been installed at Georg-Schumann-Bau. The first falcons have already been sighted there this year.
Care instructions for butterfly meadows
More structural diversity is needed on the meadows of the TU campus to create habitats for insects and to ensure the survival of insectivorous animals such as hedgehogs, bats and birds. In paticular professional mowing is necessary to preserve the butterfly meadows that where established in 2018. This requires certain knowledge and procedures. The necessary steps, as well as background information, are now summarized in a manual for the companies which are responsible for lawn maintenance on the TU Campus. The instructions are also available here, for other interested persons, for example if you wish to create an insect-friendly meadow in your private environment (manual so far only availble in German).
Raised beds for the teaching kitchen
In their project seminar, four student teachers from the Department of Economics, Technology, Household and Social Studies (WTH/S) designed a herb garden for the teaching kitchen at the Institute of Vocational Education and Vocational Didactics. In addition to location and selection of materials, their project plan takes also into account the time and financial aspects of the project in great detail. The project group is supported in the construction of the herb beds by teachers from the department of primary school didactics. The beds will be made of sustainable ecological building materials. The Botanical Garden provides the filling materials for the raised beds and the Project Sustainable Campus finances the herbal plants. Due to the limited presence of students and staff this semester, the construction and planting has been postponed to the end of August, explains Carolin Uhlmann. She is the head of the teaching kitchen and supports the project group. A care plan will help to ensure that fresh herbs can always be used in the teaching kitchen in the coming years, thus further improving teaching conditions.
Environmental Management
New cycle racks at BZW
In spring this year 80 new bicycle racks were installed at the Bürogebäude Zellescher Weg (BZW). They replace old floor cycle racks. The new racks are safer and more user-friendly. It is planned to install more mobile bicycle parkers in the future. New bicycle parkers are, for example, already in use at the entrance of Weberplatz 5 and in the courtyard of the Weberplatz building.
Share of recycled paper increasing & less paper consumption at TUD
Printing less as well as using recycled paper helps saving resources - especially water and energy. In 2019, paper consumption (A3/A4 papers) at TU Dresden decreased again (- 9.7%). The use of recycled paper has increased from about 27% to 30%. On 23 January 2020 there was an information stand on the subject of recycled paper in the foyer of the Alte Mensa, organised by the AG Papier of the Environmental Commission of the TU. Among others, different types of recycled paper and fresh fibre papers could be compared with each other. Also information about paper consumption at the TU Dresden and tips on how to save paper were provided. If you have any questions regarding the use of recycled paper and paper saving please contact TU Dresden's Environmental Management.
Exchange of office supply materials - now possible via our website
Who hasn't seen it before: In desks and cupboards there are dozens of pens, writing pads or several packs of staples with a stapler that is no longer needed. A very good opportunity for cleaning up the workplace is offered by the office supplies exchange on the website of the Environmental Management Department. Employees and students can exchange office supplies which they no longer need or which have been ordered too much, e.g. toner cardridges, pens, erasers, sticky notes, calendars, folders, dividers or staplers, etc. In previous semesters our successful office supply exchange took place in the Alte Mensa every year. Now the exchange of office supply material is also possible via our website.
So, if you have any office supplies you don't need anymore or if you are interested in materials, please check the new internal section on our website.
Environmental Report 2019 published
Since 2003 the TU Dresden has a validated environmental management system according to EMAS and strives for a continuous improvement of its environmental performance. On December 02 and 03, 2019 the environmental management system of the TU Dresden was successfully audited. After the audit, the environmental report 2019 has been published (German) in spring this year. The report contains extensive information on the TU's environmental performance and presents the university's activities in environmental management, environmental research and teaching. All environmental reports of the TU Dresden can also be found here (in German): https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/arbeitsschutz-umwelt/umwelt-und-nachhaltigkeit/umweltberichte
Student Projects, Initiatives and Events
Environmental Lecture Series of the TU Environmental Initiative (tuuwi) - Summer Semester 2020
Students, employees and guests are invited to the environmental lecture series organised by the TU Umweltinitiative tuuwi. This summer semester 2020 two lecture series will take place exclusively as online events:
Topics:
- Future Food - Our nutrition between money, power and pleasure
- Beauty will save the world?! - Art and technology as a craft for the conscientious shaping of our world.
The third lecture series "Green Hedonism" - Is a world worth living in danceable?!" is postponed to the upcoming winter semester. Whether the project days "Ideas instead of waste - cargo bicycle construction" can take place in June is not clear yet. Current information about the events can be found on the tuuwi website.
Occupational safety
Mr Bellmann, new head of occupational safety, on the special challenges during COVID 19 times
"In February 2020, I took over the occupational safety department without having any idea of the challenges that await us in the upcoming months. The corona pandemic brought with it completely new questions for occupational safety, but also for the health service, which had to be answered in close coordination with new facts every day. In addition, we felt the justified uncertainty of our colleagues through many different questions. In the meantime, we can now offer useful recommendations in the context of occupational health and safety based on scientific findings on the pandemic. In the future, the topic of corona will continue to keep us busy, in parallel with other fundamental issues of occupational safety. Even though I have known the TU Dresden for several years, I was very impressed by the helpfulness and cohesion of the TU members during this special time".
Keeping a distance of 1.5-2.0 m, coughing and sneezing etiquette: Why is that?
References to prevent infection can be found in many buildings of public life, also at the TU Dresden. In the meantime, we feel that they are part of our everyday life. But can this also be scientifically justified? In any case, it would be a strong argument to convince even skeptics and refusers. Employees of the Chair of Building Physics at Bauhaus University Weimar have used a schlieren mirror to investigate the outflow behavior of the air we breathe. They observed that the airflow overcomes a distance of about 1 m during normal exhalation. Coughing and sneezing go considerably further. If you cough or sneeze into your hand, this flow changes only slightly. It is slightly deflected vertically, but hardly prevented from spreading horizontally. On the other hand, coughing and sneezing into the crook of the arm primarily creates a vertical air flow that spreads upwards and downwards, but only slightly away from the person in the horizontal direction. In addition, the hands remain free of possible pathogens and reduce the risk of a smear infection. T-Online.de has prepared these data and pictures in a video. Afterwards, it is clear to everyone why distance rules and cough and sneeze etiquette are such important instruments for limiting the further spread of the corona virus. (A. Lang)
Health protection
Personal offers of the TU Health Management start again
In the course of the COVID 19 pandemic, the health service was recently unable to maintain the usual medical consultation hours, the company integration management (BEM) or the psychological counselling in its previous form. With the gradual resumption of university operations, these services will now continue - secured by protective measures - and partly supplemented by additional digital offers. The current situation still requires a prudent approach. For example, company medical consultations are now offered in video conference format. However, the installation of Plexiglas panels also makes it possible to provide necessary on-site consultations. In case of unavoidable close contacts (blood samples, physical examinations, ...), the wearing of mouth-nose masks on both sides ensures the best possible protection against infection with COVID-19. The Company integration management is continued primarily with video or telephone conferences. The invitation process will be resumed shortly. Nevertheless, a preventive notification of the integration management is possible at any time. Personal psychological counselling has also been resumed. Most cancelled appointments have already been made up for and new appointments can again be made regularly via the confidential e-mail box. On request, counselling is also offered by telephone or video conference.
"Bewegte Pause" (Active Break) in the summer semester as online offer
Since the "active break" cannot be offered in the usual format this summer semester, the University Health Management and the University Sports Centre have set up an online format. Since May, trainers have been offering the active break live as a 15-minute online course from Monday to Thursday during lunchtime. All employees are invited to participate. Participation is free of charge and entry is possible at any time. As usual, registration is necessary via the USZ booking system ( link). Please note: Due to technical problems, access to the booking system is only possible from the TUD network or via VPN.
Research for Environment and Sustainability
PRISMA presents the "Sustainability Assessment and Policy Award"
The PRISMA - Center for Sustainability Assessment and Policy, located at the TU Dresden, is a network of scientists from the TU Dresden and other research institutions and companies who jointly research and work on sustainability issues. For the first time, the "PRISMA - Sustainability Assessment and Policy Award" has now been presented for outstanding research on sustainability assessment and policy. Authors from all disciplines were invited to apply with their articles on the topic "Recycling Management in a Sustainable Society". Almost 50 contributions were submitted. The authors come from 28 countries from all continents. As there were many excellent submissions, the jury decided to split the prize into three parts with one first and two second prizes. The award was presented during the virtual Dresden Nexus Conference on June 4, 2020. All information about the prize and the winners can be found here.
The Green Infrastructure Approach: Multiple benefits for landscape planning and management in central Europe
Over the last three years 10 partners from across five central European countries have cooperated in the Interreg Central Europe project MaGICLandscapes which was managed by the TU Dresdens Chair of Remote Sensing. The project partners develop tools for green infrastructure assessment in 9 case study areas throughout central Europe.
At the MaGICLandscapes Online Final Conference on 6th October 2020 they present the activities and project outputs.
Transnational and regional studies on the spatial analysis of green infrastructure in central Europe, its ecological functionality and its ecosystem services and potential will be discussed. With reference to 9 case study areas the functionality of green infrastructure and its public benefits are demonstrated. In each case study area a green infrastructure strategy and action plan was developed to address local and regional needs and opportunities.
The registration for the online conference will open in August. Further information about the project and contact: https://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/MaGICLandscapes.html
News in brief
First RepairCafe at the TU Dresden
On 08.01.2020 the first RepairCafe for students, employees and external persons took place at the TU Dresden in cooperation with the RepairCafe Dresden/Freital and the workshop of the professorship for primary school pedagogy. All kinds of defective portable objects could be brought along, e.g. household appliances, consumer electronics, wooden objects (toys, small furniture). The organisers had baked cakes and made coffee. At our first RepairCafe a leather handbag, a water boiler, a record player and a laptop could be repaired. Due to the successful repairs, about 16 kg of waste could be saved. Participants and organizers of the RepairCafe were very satisfied. After a Corona-related break the organizers of the RepairCafe itself have started again with public appointments on 14 May 2020 in the Umweltzentrum Freital under compliance with the special hygiene rules. On the website repaircafe.fueralle.org you can also find information about repairs and repair instructions. A new date on the premises of TU Dresden will be announced in time.
Team TU Dresden participates in city cycling campaign
From 29 June to 19 July, all cycling enthusiasts are once again invited to take part in the campaign "City Cycling - Cycling for a good climate" for the TU Dresden. Despite the corona restrictions that will probably still be in place at that time, the campaign will take place. Come and join the team of TU Dresden!
Further information and registration
21st Local Agenda Competition
The Local Agenda Competition Dresden takes place for the 21st time this year. The competition is intended to honour and value projects or special commitment to sustainable development in Dresden. There are three categories: Education for sustainability and social cooperation, sustainable projects for children and youth and "Biological Diversity" (audience award). The three prizes are endowed with a total of 6,000 EUR. Further information about the application is available on the website of the association Lokale Agenda für Dresden e. V. at: https://la-dresden.de/2020/05/05/der-20-agenda-wettbewerb/.
Dates and Events
|
30 May 2020 - 21 Feb 2021, |
|
| Wednesdays, online event |
FUTURE FOOD - Our nutrition between money, power and pleasure, tuuwi Environmental Lecture Series (in German) Link to the Opal Course |
| Thursdays, online event |
Beauty will save the world?! - Art and technology as a craft for the conscientious shaping of our world. tuuwi Environmental Lecture Series (in German) Link to the Opal Course |