Launched in 1967 by four relevant institutes from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia, the Colloquia of Danubian Countries have been the only exclusive meetings in the field of natural and artificial weathering of polymers for now 57 years. Relaunched as EWS they have attracted a broader scope of attendees.

In the tradition of these colloquia, the EWS is a meeting point for experts from industry and academia to learn from each other. The main symposium topics are:

• Weathering of Polymeric Products – Plastics and Coatings
• Determination, Simulation and Effects of Relevant Climatic Quantities
• New Test Procedures and Devices
• Weathering Reference Materials
• Analysis of Polymer Degradation
• Service-Life Prediction

The EWS is planning a strong link between the similar international conferences or Symposia in Japan, International Weathering Symposium (every 3 to 4 years) and in the USA International Symposium on Service Life Prediction of Polymers (every 2 to 3 years), but also to the other CEEES Symposia organised by the national societies for environmental engineering (www.ceees.org).

Organisation / Conference Management

The European Weathering Symposium is being organised on behalf of CEEES by the German Society for Environmental Engineering GUS (Gesellschaft für Umweltsimulation e.V.), supported by the Austrian Society for Environmental Engineering ÖGUS, Wr. Neustadt and Österreichisches Forschungsinstitut für Chemie und Technik OFI, Wien..