Accessibility Statement

Here you can find the accessibility statement for the https://website www.umweltprobenbank.de

This accessibility statement applies to the version of this website currently accessible on the Internet at https://www.umweltprobenbank.de.

The website is also available in easy language.

The Federal Environment Agency strives to make its Federal Environmental Specimen Bank website accessible without barriers in accordance with national legislation implementing Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1).

The legal basis is the German Disability Equality Act (BGG), the Barrier-Free Information Technology Ordinance (BITV 2.0) and the harmonized European standard EN 301 549 as amended.

Status of compatibility with the requirements

The accessibility requirements result from §§ 3 paragraphs 1 to 4 and § 4 of BITV 2.0, which was issued on the basis of § 12d BGG.

The verification of compliance with the requirements is based on a self-assessment conducted on December 10, 2024 with the BIK BITV Self-Assessment by DIAS GmbH (BITV Self-Assessment). Furthermore, the website was checked with the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool and with Microsoft Accessibility Insights (Accessibility Insights). In addition to manual testing using the BITV self-assessment and automated accessibility testing, a manual expert evaluation by a screen reader user took place.

The audit was carried out by innoQ Deutschland GmbH.

Based on the review, the website is partially compliant with the aforementioned requirements.

Content that is not accessible

The content listed below is not accessible for the following reasons:

Information in German sign language is currently not available (§ 4, BITV 2.0).
We will provide a reference to content in German sign language as well as a translation of the audio content within one year.
For the videos explaining the workflows under the menu item "Basics" -> "Workflows", neither a translation into German sign language, nor an audio description or a complete transcript is provided (WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.3 "Audio description or Media alternative (prerecorded)" and Success Criterion 1.2.5 "Audio description (prerecorded)").
The videos are embedded Youtube videos that can also be played directly on Youtube. Youtube offers the option to display automatically generated subtitles during playback.
A translation of the audio tracks of the videos into German sign language and an audio description as well as a complete transcript will be offered by us within one year.
The diagrams that are displayed as the result of a data search are not fully accessible at a zoom factor of 200 % or more. Although the data points scale, the lines and bars do not. This results in overlapping, which means that progression lines can no longer be fully tracked (WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.4 "Change text size").
From a zoom factor of 400, the legend of a diagram is cut off, and the diagram itself does not scale but retains its size. This truncates data points above a certain width. Scrolling is not possible (WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.10 "Reflow").
The diagrams are generated by an integrated third-party tool. We have no way of rectifying the defects described. However, we will contact the provider of the tool and, in consultation with them, will endeavor to rectify the defects within one year.
In the contact form, any error messages are not recognizable and detectable from a zoom factor of 400 % (WCAG Success Criterion 3.3.1 "Error detection" and WCAG success criterion 1.4.10 "Reflow").
Older PDF files are not accessible. We refrain from post-processing, as the content is not required for active administrative procedures and was created or updated before September 23, 2019 (§ 2 (2) No. 2 BITV 2.0).
For the most part, these are extensive final reports of research projects as well as standard operating procedures (SOP) for a narrowly defined group of readers. We classify post-processing as a disproportionate burden according to § 12a (6) BGG.

Creation of this accessibility statement

This declaration was created on February 8, 2022 and updated on December 13, 2024.

The assessment is based on the BITV self-assessment of DIAS GmbH conducted on December 10, 2024 by innoQ Deutschland GmbH, Krischerstr. 100, 40789 Monheim am Rhein.

Feedback and contact details

Have you noticed any deficiencies in the barrier-free access to content on https://www.umweltprobenbank.de? If so, please feel free to contact us.
By e-mail to:
upb(at)uba.de.
The data protection regulations will of course be observed.
By mail to:
Umweltbundesamt
P.O. Box 1406
D-06813 Dessau-Roßlau

Arbitration procedure

Pursuant to Section 16 of the BGG, there is an Arbitration Service available under the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities. The Arbitration Service is responsible for resolving disputes between persons with disabilities and federal public authorities.

You can involve the Arbitration Service if you are not satisfied with the responses you receive via the contact options above. This is not about determining who “wins” and who “loses”, the aim is to find a joint out-of-court solution to the problem with the help of the Arbitration Service.

The arbitration procedure is free of charge. You do not need to engage legal counsel.

You can find detailed information about the arbitration procedure on the Arbitration Service website. This includes information on how the arbitration procedure works and how to submit a request for arbitration. Requests can also be submitted in “Leichte Sprache” (easy read language) or German Sign Language.

You can contact the Arbitration Service at the following address:

Arbitration Service pursuant to the German Act on Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities under the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities
Mauerstraße 53
10117 Berlin
Germany

Phone: +49 (0)30 18 527-2805
Fax: +49 (0)30 18 527-2901
E-mail: info@schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de
Website: www.schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de/Webs/SchliBGG/EN/home/english-node.html