[en] Poland's national gas pipeline system is managed and operated by the Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM Ltd. The transmission system comprises ca 15.000 kilometers of pipelines, large enough to supply gas to almost all parts of the country. The GAZ-SYSTEM Company was separated out of the structure of the Polish Oil and Gas Company SA on April 16, 2004 in compliance with the EU Gas Directive 2003/55/EC. As a result of further property transformations, 100 per cent of the Company's shares belong as of April 28, 2005 to the State Treasury. The Company's key activity consist of providing services of transmitting gas under the terms of the fuel gas transmission and distribution permit and the decision of the Energy Regulatory Office president appointing the transmission network operator. The most important task of the gas transmission network operator is the assurance of safety and efficient operation of the high pressure gas network, as well as the individual components comprising the gas system, such as compressor stations, reduction stations and 1^st degree reduction and measurement stations. The key task is to deliver natural gas through the transmission networks to the distribution system or to end users who are connected directly to the transmission network. The approach to the issue of gas pipeline safety in Europe and in the world has changed in recent years. Safety is no longer perceived solely as observance of technical regulations defining the responsibilities and duties of gas pipeline operators. The basic requirement which company shave to meet nowadays is to draw up and implement a Safety and Risk Management System. Any company operating a gas transmitting network is bound to define the potential risks of its activities and the necessary preventive measures to limit any risks. So, on one side, operators are bound to observe legal regulations in force and to define their own Safety Management System rules, on the other. A properly defined and enforced Safety and Risk Management System reduces the risk of potential gas pipeline breakdowns, optimize operation costs and ensures effective use of financial recourses allocated for assuring the safety of gas pipelines. In its operations, the GAZ-SYSTEM Company applies appropriate legal requirements to ensure the safety of gas pipelines on the construction and operation process as well as with due respect for the natural environment. (author)

[en] The lecture described actual state of implementation of European standards concerning transmission of natural gas and underlined their importance for proper performance of Transmission System Operator (TSO). European standards implemented to Polish Standards as PN-EN, necessary for TSO, related to design, construction and operation of high pressure gas network were also described. The lecture underlined as well the impact of standards application on preparation process of national regulations. They obligate TSO to create the technical conditions that ensure safety of gas transmission network functioning as well as environmental and surroundings safety. (authors)

[en] We report a new high vacuum instrument which is dedicated to the preparation of well-defined clusters supported on model and technologically relevant supports for catalytic and materials investigations. The instrument is based on deposition of size selected metallic cluster ions that are produced by a high flux magnetron cluster source. The throughput of the apparatus is maximized by collecting and focusing ions utilizing a conical octupole ion guide and a linear ion guide. The size selection is achieved by a quadrupole mass filter. The new design of the sample holder provides for the preparation of multiple samples on supports of various sizes and shapes in one session. After cluster deposition onto the support of interest, samples will be taken out of the chamber for a variety of testing and characterization