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Occupational diseases

Industrial notifiable diseases invoked by or at work. Treatment and rehabilitation are covered by accident insurance (trade association).

Ocean dumping

Disposal of solid or liquid waste in the sea with permission from the authorities. Solid waste has to be sinkable; liquid waste is pumped into the propeller jet of a moving special tanker for rapid dilution. Since 1989, Germany no longer issues permits for ocean dumping of diluted waste acid from the titanium dioxide industry due to ocean pollution.

Octane number

Abbreviation: ON. Measurement for the Antiknock rating in gasoline engines; determined arbitrarily by mixture percentages between the knock-resistant isooctane (ON = 100) and the knock inducer n-heptane (ON = 0); can be measured in engine fuel under test by comparing with this mixture.

Odor elimination

This refers to the removal of disturbing odor components from waste gas or waste air, e.g. via absorption (waste gas cleaning system), adsorption (active carbon filter), chemical conversion (e.g. neutralization) or incineration (e.g. mercaptans in the pulp industry). Seeing as how even exceptionally small concentrations of some substances can result in considerable odor nuisances, total odor elimination can be difficult and expensive in some cases.

Odor emission rates

This refers to the relationship between volumetric flows upon diluting a waste gas sample down to the odor threshold, represented by a multiple of the odor threshold.

Odor masking

This usually incorporates Aerosols to overpower unpleasant odors with more pleasant odors.

Odor nuisance

This refers to any encroachment on human well-being for a certain period of time at regular or irregular intervals due to emitted odors.

Oil absorbent

Substances that are usually both oleophilic (attract oil) and hydrophobic (repel water). They are employed in the case of accidents with mineral oil and mineral oil products. Basic material: peat, pine bark, wood flour, rock-glass, plastics, rubber, charcoal and cellulose.

Oil separator

See: Separator.

ON

See: Octane number.

Ordinance on Waste Disposal Records

The Ordinance on Waste Disposal Records supersedes the hitherto valid ordinance on waste monitoring and defines the monitoring process for avoidance and utilization of waste. The new ordinance simplifies the monitoring process both for the producers of waste and for the authorities. In future, disposal processes will be considered officially confirmed if the applications from the producers of waste have not been rejected within 30 days.

Osmosis

Permeation of water or other solvents through walls (skins or diaphragms) that are semi-permeable, i.e. they allow solvents to pass through but not the dissolved material.

Overall planning of water supply and distribution

Overall planning with the objective of staking out the water usage possibilities, e.g. the available water supply, water requirement, flood protection or maintaining clean bodies of water. Special planning of water supply and distribution deals with individual aspects such as flood protection planning of a specific river area or water maintenance planning.

Oxidation

Originally, this term was used to describe slow, fast or explosive combination of oxygen with other elements or compounds. Currently, oxidation is used to describe the process whereby electrons are removed from the atoms of an element. Oxidation processes play an extraordinarily important role in both nature and technology. Biological oxidation: obtaining energy via progressive oxidation of energy-rich, organic substances as seen in the respiratory chain.