Knowledge Blog

Pollutant Guides

• Lead in the building: paint, pipes, dust, risk and law

  Lead is found in old paints, water pipes and house dust. Where it occurs, why even small amounts are especially dangerous for children, what the Drinking Water Ordinance requires, and how to determine it reliably.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 4 min read

• Wood preservatives in old buildings: PCP and lindane in treated timber

  PCP and lindane were applied for decades to roof trusses, beams and panelling. Why treated timber still off-gases after decades, why both substances are considered carcinogenic, what is banned, and how to determine the burden reliably.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 4 min read

• MMF: when old mineral wool becomes a problem

  Man-made mineral fibres are the most common insulation material. The problem is age: old, biopersistent mineral wool is classified as carcinogenic, modern biosoluble wool is not. How to tell them apart, where old MMF sits, and when you need to act.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 4 min read

• PAH in old buildings: the black adhesive under the parquet

  Under old parquet there is often a black, tar-like adhesive. Where PAH occur in buildings, why benzo[a]pyrene is considered carcinogenic, what waste and occupational law require, and how to determine reliably what is stuck under the floor.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 5 min read

• PCB in sealants: the toxin in the joint

  PCB are found in the elastic joint sealants of concrete and office buildings of the 1960s and 1970s. Where they sit, why they are considered carcinogenic, how they migrate into neighbouring components, what the law requires, and how to determine them reliably.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 4 min read

• Radon in Austria: occurrence, risk, measurement and law

  Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Where it occurs in Austria, how to measure correctly, what the values mean, and what the Radon Protection Ordinance requires.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 6 min read

• Pollutants by construction year: what is in which building

  Every building era has its typical pollutants. From the lead of the Gründerzeit through the asbestos and PCB decades to the VOC of new builds: an overview of what to expect in a building of a given age, and what to watch for before a renovation.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 4 min read

• VOC after renovation: when the new home smells

  After a renovation or new build it often smells 'new'. These are volatile organic compounds (VOC) from fresh materials. Where they come from, when they become concerning, what makes formaldehyde special, and what really helps.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 4 min read

• Recognising asbestos: occurrence, risk, law and the right approach

  Asbestos cannot be recognised with the naked eye. Where it occurs in buildings, whether Eternit is always asbestos, what makes it dangerous, what Austrian law requires, and how to determine reliably whether asbestos is present.

  Pollutant Guides May 31, 2026 6 min read

Background

• Eternit: the story of a promise of eternity

  How an Upper Austrian paper manufacturer invented asbestos cement around 1900, named it after eternity, and created a building material that conquered the world, and whose consequences are still with us.

  Background May 31, 2026 4 min read

• The backstory: 100 years of asbestos in Burgenland

  The asbestos-bearing serpentinite of the Rechnitz window was mined, marketed, medically studied and litigated long before the first Greenpeace sample tube was filled in 2026. A chronicle of what was known, and not acted upon.

  Background May 31, 2026 9 min read

Fact check

• Fact check: Hans-Peter Hutter's Falter statements on the asbestos contamination

  Two statements by task force lead Hans-Peter Hutter in Falter, checked against the public record: the laboratory behind the Szombathely readings, and the origin of the gravel.

  Fact check May 31, 2026 5 min read