Disinfectants are in short supply during the coronavirus crisis. With the support of the “Network for Disaster Response in Upper Austria”, the Upper Austrian military command has now produced its own hand sanitizer for its emergency services.
Through the “Network for Disaster Response”, the military command was offered around 4,000 liters of alcohol – a “waste product” from the production of non-alcoholic beer – by Brau Union Österreich, one of the network partners. Lieutenant Colonel Wolfgang Lachner, safety specialist at the military command, immediately used this opportunity to produce hand disinfectant in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. “After appropriate denaturation and the addition of glycerol, we were able to produce hand sanitizer that is sufficient for around 500 soldiers for 300 days at a daily consumption rate of 30 ml,” Lachner was pleased to report. This hand disinfectant is filled into 150 ml bottles and distributed to the assistants, as they do not always have the opportunity to thoroughly clean their hands with soap, Lachner concluded.
Other network partners are also already supporting the armed forces’ assistance mission in Upper Austria. For example, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich has provided around 300 pairs of safety goggles, while Pappas Mercedes-Benz, Swietelsky and the province of Upper Austria are supporting the mobility of the assistance forces with a total of nine minibuses and vans. UNIQA insurance covers all vehicles from the time of deployment.
