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Building a Model Based on Scientific Consensus for Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Chemicals: The Search for Harmony and Parsimony
Abstract
Recognizing the value of different modeling approaches helped to build consensus when developing a recommended model for assessing the impacts of chemical emissions from a product's life cycle.
... Starting from a certain share of substances applied to the fields which is released into the soil, a VDV is calculated for the agricultural input of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and glyphosate (G) by dividing the emission to water by the geogenic background concentration (naturally occurring substances N and P) or target concentration (G), respectively. Input data are taken from the global model IMAGE-GNM for N and P 19 and from the global gridded map PEST-CHEMGRIDS 20 as well as the life cycle impact assessment model USEtox® model 21,22 for G. Local to regional framework conditions that determine the amount of emission to water are taken into account, even if the results are presented at country level. For every country, the largest VDV represents the water quality footprint of agriculture under consideration of country water stress levels as withdrawal-toavailability ratios, including environmental flow requirements. ...
... The G load G,em is calculated from the gridded application rates according PEST-CHEMGRIDS 20 for the year 2020 by multiplication with a mass fraction which is obtained from the USEtox® model 21,22 . The mass fraction is the proportion of G that is emitted into freshwater (surface water and groundwater) after transport, sorption and (bio)degradation in the soil. ...
... Input data are available from Bringezu et al. 8 (German share on agricultural production), the IMAGE-GNM model 19 , PEST-CHEMGRIDS 20 , the USEtox® model 21,22 , FAOSTAT (agricultural production and area) as well as from AQUASTAT 24 (total water withdrawal and total renewable water resources per country). All data that were calculated or compiled throughout this study are available in the Supplementary Material, detailed calculations and a README file can be obtained from Mendeley Data 54 . ...
Fertiliser and pesticide application can cause extensive environmental damage. We use the water quality footprint to express nitrogen, phosphorus and glyphosate emissions from agriculture in volumes of water needed to virtually dilute pollution and apply the approach to agricultural imports for the German bioeconomy in 1995 and 2020. In total, the virtual German water quality footprint corresponds to 90 times the volume of Lake Constance. If water pollution had to be eliminated by dilution in export countries supplying Germany, volumes would be by a median of 300 times higher than the associated irrigation volumes there and could exceed natural water availability. Important and growing hotspots of clean water scarcity are China, Spain and India. The impact of German agricultural supply chains needs to be monitored with regard to the sustainability of national consumption and to the effectiveness of increasing fertiliser and pesticide use, especially in African, Asian and Pacific countries.
... have been considered. It determines both environmental impacts such as human toxicity and ecotoxicity, and was developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the American Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) [22,23,24]. The compartments considered in this model are air, freshwater, sea, natural soil and agricultural soil [22]. ...
... It determines both environmental impacts such as human toxicity and ecotoxicity, and was developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the American Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) [22,23,24]. The compartments considered in this model are air, freshwater, sea, natural soil and agricultural soil [22]. ...
... In the Run worksheet, the main matrices with fate, exposure, intake fraction and effect factors are shown, followed by the characterization factor matrices [1] and [28]. The CF (the mid-point) for human toxicity is calculated by the continental and global characterization factors summation [22]. Indeed, the calculation is done through three steps: ...
Disposal of waste sludges produced in large amounts in the paper industry could generate significant environmental and health issues. One strategy to address them involves revalorization of deinking paper sludge (DPS) by reusing it as fertilizer. However, the possible human health risks associated with the use of DPS are still not well explored. The main objective of this report was to estimate DPS impacts on human toxicity. To achieve this goal, heavy metals analysis of the DPS waste (Cadmium; Cd, Copper; Cu; Molybdenum; Mo, Manganese; Mn; Lead; Pb; Cobalt; Co) was conducted. The assessment of human toxicity was performed by applying the UNEP/SETAC toxicity model USEtox 2.0 to establish indicators that reflect the potential health damage of these chemicals when released into the environment. Laboratory analysis, revealed a very low concentration of the DPS by the metallic contaminants (Cd, Cu, Mo, Mn, Pb, Co). According to the USEtox model results, these quantities will not lead to either carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic risks on human health even if there is a use of very high quantities of DPS. Indeed, the number of cases /t DPS emitted in agricultural soils didn't exceed 950.10-7 for the non-carcinogenic effect and 3.71.10-7 for the carcinogenic effect for Pb. For Mn and Co, we noticed no toxic effects (0 cases /t DPS emitted). Furthermore, we observed that Mo and Cu had very weak non-carcinogenic effects and led respectively to 445.10-7 and 56.10-7 cases /t DPS emitted. Regarding the effect of Cd toxicity, in order to have one case of this metal toxicity from DPS waste in our study, we had to use a very important quantity of DPS (≈ 2 821 680t). All these data emphasized on the absence of heath human toxicity risk after DPS waste industrial disposal, by ingestion or inhalation.
... The Tool for Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals and Other Environmental Impacts is a lifecycle impact assessment tool that can combine US TRI data with other characterization factors (e.g., ecotoxicity, human toxicity, and various impacts to the environment upon which life depends) to achieve a relative ranking of environmental and human health impacts (Bare, 2011). The USEtox model, endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Hauschild et al., 2008), has been used to interpret and rank data from the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) in terms of potential human and environmental impacts of pollutants in Sweden and Europe (European Environmental Agency, 2018; Nordborg et al., 2017). ...
... Future work could also address the inorganics excluded here, which comprise the top NPRI substances by release quantity in the last decade and beyond. While models such as the USEtox model (Hauschild et al., 2008) do include some inorganic metals, CACs are not yet included in any known multimedia environmental fate, exposure, and risk estimation models. Future work to address this gap using suitable models for metals and CACs would be valuable to enhance the comprehensiveness of a risk-based approach for ranking and prioritizing the NPRI. ...
The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) is a Canadian inventory of facility-reported data on releases, transfers, and disposals of over 300 pollutants, but it does not contain information on chemical properties or other characteristics critical to understanding environmental and human health risks. To reconcile this gap, we use the Risk Assessment IDentification And Ranking (RAIDAR) model to integrate NPRI release data with chemical property information in a multimedia mass balance model to combine exposure estimates with toxicity hazard data yielding an estimate of risk for 198 NPRI organic substances reported in 2010–2019. The presented case study further corroborates the hypothesis that risk-based ranking gives rise to different chemical priorities versus ranking based on release quantity alone. Chemicals like propane and hexane (except n-hexane) are in the top 10 highest-ranked organic substances based on emission quantities reported to NPRI but are ranked outside the top 10 based on corresponding regional-scale risk estimates. On the contrary, dioxins and furans are ranked very low based on emissions quantities reported to NPRI but are ranked higher based on corresponding risk estimates. The results also suggest that although quantities of some NPRI organic pollutant releases change over time, the ensuing risk estimates are not always directly proportional to these changes. This can be explained by changes in mode of entry to the environment that can influence the overall fate and exposure of the same chemicals, highlighting the complex dynamics that can occur when simulating fate and risk as opposed to quantity alone. Limitations are discussed and recommendations are provided for improving the priority setting methods, including reducing the uncertainty of the NPRI data and the need for multimedia models to address point source emissions. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:1722–1732. © 2022 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).
KEY POINTS
The NPRI is a Canadian inventory of pollutant releases, transfers, and disposals, but does not contain chemical property information or other characteristics critical to understanding environmental and human health risk. Here, we use the RAIDAR model to integrate NPRI release data with chemical property information in a multimedia mass balance model to combine exposure estimates with toxicity hazard data yielding an estimate of risk for certain NPRI organic substances. The results show that risk-based ranking of NPRI substances gives different priorities than ranking based on release quantity alone, and that while pollutant releases change over time, the ensuing risk estimates are not always directly proportional to these changes. Limitations and recommendations are discussed for improving the approach.
... In the proposed methodology framework (Figure 3), the LCT approach has been employed to collect data for determining the indicator values of alternatives. Specially, the LCA approach has been employed to determine environmental impacts for the alternatives of the supply chain, i.e. climate change, particulate matter formulation, human toxicity, land use, and fossil depletion [37,39,[48][49][50][51]. The LCC approach has been used to compute economic criteria aspects of alternatives, such as net present value (NPV), total cost, and internal rate of return (IRR) [36,[38][39][40]52,53]. ...
Transitioning to a circular economy is crucial for sustainable energy development; yet,
current energy supply chains lack comprehensive assessment tools. This study introduces the Holistic Multi-Indicator Decision Support System (HMI_DSS), an innovative tool grounded in life cycle
thinking and advanced multi-criteria decision-making methodologies, including Entropy and PROMETHEE II. The HMI_DSS quantifies and assesses sustainability and circularity in energy systems
by employing 49 indicators, with a focus on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. A case
study on the rice straw energy supply chain for biogas production illustrates the tool’s effectiveness,
comparing a baseline scenario to an alternative. The results show that the global warming potential
(GWP) of the baseline is 122 gCO2eq/kWh, while the alternative is 116 gCO2eq/kWh. However, the
baseline scenario has lower energy consumption (1.72 × 107 MJ annually) than the alternative (1.98
× 107 MJ). Overall, the alternative outperforms the baseline in terms of sustainability and circularity.
The HMI_DSS offers a flexible and robust framework for evaluating trade-offs in energy systems,
providing valuable insights for energy companies and researchers in adopting circular economy
principles to achieve sustainable development.
... LCA methods are constantly evolving, but according to its International Organization for Standardization (ISO) definition, an analyst performing an LCA must perform a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA-the "phase of LCA aimed at understanding and evaluation the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts") which typically demands "characterization factors" (CFs) that convert resource consumption and pollutant emissions to potential impacts (ISO 2006). For freshwater ecotoxicity impacts, fate-exposureeffect models such as USEtox can be employed to calculate CFs Hauschild et al. 2008;Rosenbaum et al. 2008). USEtox is the UNEP/SETAC scientific consensus model for human toxicity and ecotoxicity CFs ). ...
Purpose
This study focuses on updating, improving, and expanding the extrapolation factors needed to convert various acute or chronic effect concentration indicators into consistent chronic EC10eq (effect concentration inducing a 10% response over background) for use in life cycle assessment (LCA). Our main objectives include (1) to present a detailed approach for the harmonization of ecotoxicity data, with a focus on deriving extrapolation factors, and (2) to estimate both generic and species group-specific extrapolation factors, facilitating the conversion of effect concentration indicator groups (EC10eq and EC50eq) into chronic EC10eq.
Methods
Experimental ecotoxicity data were sourced from CompTox Version 2.1.1, which integrates toxicity information from ToxValDB v9.1.1, and the information from REACH registration dossiers. We developed a framework for harmonizing ecotoxicity data, ensuring uniformity and high quality of aquatic ecotoxicity information from these sources. Through linear regression analysis, both generic and species group-specific extrapolation factors were then derived.
Results and discussion
Harmonization of ecotoxicity data yielded a streamlined dataset with 339,729 datapoints for 10,668 chemicals, reflecting a 54% reduction in raw datapoints. The geometric mean-based aggregation process produced 79,001 aggregated effect concentration datapoints at the species level, 41,303 at the species group level, and 23,215 at the effect concentration indicator level for these chemicals. This process facilitated the derivation of 3 generic and 24 species group-specific extrapolation factors, allowing for the conversion of effect concentration indicator groups (EC10eq and EC50eq) to a chronic EC10eq across two exposure classes (acute vs. chronic) and species groups, as defined in the US EPA ECOTOX knowledgebase, including algae, amphibians, fish, crustaceans, insects/spiders, invertebrates, molluscs, and worms.
Conclusions
The harmonization of ecotoxicity data and the derived extrapolation factors permit the integration of diverse datapoints with varying effect concentration indicators and exposure durations into USEtox ecotoxicity characterization factors. This has the potential to enhance substance coverage for characterizing ecotoxicity effects across chemicals in LCA frameworks by permitting wider species coverage. More generally, this is part of global efforts to extend the potential for quantitative assessment of environmental impacts of chemicals in an LCA framework.
... No sensors are installed in the "refurbished building", as a previous study (Pannier et al., 2022) showed that the environmental benefit of smart buildings Ecotox. CTUe (Huijbregts et al., 2005;Hauschild et al., 2008;Rosenbaum et al., 2008Rosenbaum et al., , 2015Kounina et al., 2014;Hellweg et al., 2009;Wenger et al., 2012;Fantke et al., 2011Fantke et al., , 2012Fantke and Jolliet, 2016 (Roy et al., 2012b(Roy et al., , 2014b Terrestrial acidification T. Acid. kg SO 2 eq (Roy et al., 2012a(Roy et al., , 2014a Freshwater eutrophication F. Eutrop. ...
... The provided HC M 10% can be implemented in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) to derive human toxicity effect factors with direct application in USEtox. USEtox is the UNEP/SETAC scientific consensus model for human toxicity and ecotoxicity characterization in LCIA and other comparative assessments 54,55 and aims to improve the understanding and management of chemicals by quantifying exposure, risks, and impacts of chemicals in products (e.g., personal care, toys, building materials) and in the environment. 1,56 USEtox applications include life cycle assessment (LCA), chemical footprinting, risk screening, safe and sustainable-by-design (SSbD), and chemical substitution to inform public and private stakeholders. ...
Chemicals assessment and management frameworks rely on regulatory toxicity values, which are based on points of departure (POD) identified following rigorous dose–response assessments. Yet, regulatory PODs and toxicity values for inhalation exposure (i.e., reference concentrations [RfCs]) are available for only ∼200 chemicals. To address this gap, we applied a workflow to determine surrogate inhalation route PODs and corresponding toxicity values, where regulatory assessments are lacking. We curated and selected inhalation in vivo data from the U.S. EPA’s ToxValDB and adjusted reported effect values to chronic human equivalent benchmark concentrations (BMCh) following the WHO/IPCS framework. Using ToxValDB chemicals with existing PODs associated with regulatory toxicity values, we found that the 25th %-ile of a chemical’s BMCh distribution () could serve as a suitable surrogate for regulatory PODs (Q² ≥ 0.76, RSE ≤ 0.82 log10 units). We applied this approach to derive for 2,095 substances with general non-cancer toxicity effects and 638 substances with reproductive/developmental toxicity effects, yielding a total coverage of 2,160 substances. From these , we derived probabilistic RfCs and human population effect concentrations. With this work, we have expanded the number of chemicals with toxicity values available, thereby enabling a much broader coverage for inhalation risk and impact assessment.
... The toxic effect of each metal is calculated by multiplying the weight of the metal by the corresponding characterization factor generated by the USEtox model. Human toxicity (carcinogenic/noncarcinogenic) and ecotoxicity scores were calculated for each metal detected in LED lamp waste based on the following equations (Hauschild et al. 2008;Huijbregts 2010;Chen et al. 2018;Singh et al. 2019): ...
The increasing market share of light emitting diode (LED) lamps shows that there will be a surplus of LED lamp waste in the future. LED lamps contain base, critical, and precious metals, and these metals are associated with resource depletion and toxicity impacts. To develop effective recycling and disposal programs, updated metal concentration data are crucial. Evaluating the toxic impacts of metals on LED lamp waste is essential for informed decision-making in metal selection and substitution in future LED lamp design. This study aims to evaluate the metal substances in LED lamp models consumed in Thailand, representing the ASEAN region, using standardized leaching tests. It compares the obtained metal concentration data with existing literature and threshold total metal concentration (TTLC) standards to determine the potential hazard status of LED lamp models. Additionally, the study applies the USEtox life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) model to develop a comprehensive toxicological impact data set based on metal concentrations in different LED lamp types. The results showed that copper, aluminum, and iron were the most abundant metals in LED lamps. The average mass concentrations of copper, nickel, silver, lead, and zinc were found to have exceeded the TTLC limits, classifying the waste LED lamps as hazardous. Of the metals found in LED lamp waste, nickel and lead carried the highest cancer risk, zinc and lead the highest noncancer toxicity, and aluminum and iron the highest ecotoxicity. These results indicate that stronger enforcement is needed to reduce toxic impacts. The findings lead to the development of a new data set for recycling/recovery and provide recommendations for making eco-friendly designs in the manufacture of LED lamps.
... The methods for assessing impacts on climate change in the articles classified as CF are shown in Tables 3 and 5. Therefore, this section covers only studies classified as LCA. Within the 37 LCA articles conducting the LCIA phase, the CML method (Guinée et al., 2002) is the most used LCIA method (18 articles), followed by Ecoindicator (Goedkoop and Spriensma, 2001) and UseTox (Hauschild et al., 2008;Rosenbaum et al., 2008), both of which are used in eight articles, and ReCiPe (Huijbregts et al., 2017), in seven. In total, 14 articles consider more than one LCIA method to present Table 5 Approaches used to account for biogenic carbon flows and impact. ...
... A ce titre, elle est utilisable pour les outils numériques ayant comme thématique la gestion de l'irrigation. IMPACT WORLD + suit également les recommandations du consensus scientifique USEtox (Hauschild et al., 2008). Ce dernier propose des facteurs de caractérisation harmonisés pour de nombreux produits phytosanitaires. ...
This master thesis aims at elaborate recommandations concerning Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for digital tools in agriculture. Actually there is no methodological background to apply LCA in this context. The recommandations are based on a state-of-the-art and a case study, semi-automatic driving for mechanical weeding in viticulture.
The Occitanum project fully funded this work.
... All these models in case of the regionalized human health impact are based on the USEtox methodology. USEtox is model endorsed by UNEP's Life Cycle Initiative for characterizing human and ecotoxicological impacts of chemicals (Hauschild et al. 2008;Rosenbaum et al. 2008). The USEtox is specifically focused on the human health and the ecosystems impact assessment (Nordborg et al. 2017;Fantke et al. 2021). ...
The research paper is aimed to modify the human health impact assessment of Cr in soils. The current article presents the input of several critical parameters for the human health Impact Score (IShum) assessment in soils. The modification of the IShum is derived using geological data — results of neutron activation analysis of soils are used in the IShum calculation; research area is divided using the watersheds and population size and density. Watersheds reflect the local environmental conditions of the territory unlike the administrative units (geographical areas of the studied region) due to their geological independence. The calculations of the characterization factor value underestimate the influence of the population size and density on the final result. Default characterization factor values cannot be considered during the assessment of the potential human health impact for the big sparsely inhabited areas. In case of very low population density, the result will be overrated and underestimated in the opposite case. The current approach demonstrates that the geographical separation in the USEtox model should be specified. The same approach can be utilized for other geo zones due to the accessibility of this information (area size, population size, and density, geological, and landscape features).
... 16 For human toxicity impacts, a CF is obtained by the combination of a fate factor (FF), indicating the distribution of a substance in the environmental compartments, an exposure factor (XF), indicating the intake of a substance by humans from an environmental compartment and through different exposure pathways, and a toxicity effect factor (EF), which indicates the disease incidence in the human population linked to the intake of a substance. 13,17 The toxicity effect factor is calculated either from human data or by extrapolating to humans the information from animal studies, separating cancer and non-cancer effects. As non-cancer effects are the ones more easily tested in vitro, hereafter the term "toxicity effect factor" will be used to indicate non-cancer toxicity effect factors only. ...
The growing number of nanomaterials being produced represents a challenge for the assessment of their toxicity impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA). The human toxicity effect factor, indicating the population incidence risk caused by chemical exposure, is traditionally estimated from in vivo animal test data; however, this kind of study is being reduced in favor of in vitro testing. In this perspective, we identify the peculiarities of nanomaterials compared to chemicals, and how this affects, or should affect, the LCA toxicity characterization methodology within the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) step. Then, we also discuss both the challenges and the opportunities of integrating in vitro data into LCIA, such as the scarcity of chronic in vitro experiments and avoiding inter-species extrapolation. Moreover, we show the acceptable uncertainty space for in vitro-derived toxicity effect factors for nanomaterials, based on the range of uncertainty of toxicity effect factors for chemicals. Last, we advocate that using in vivo data as a benchmark for the accuracy of derived human toxicity effect factors may in certain cases be misleading. While the adaptation of the LCIA toxicity characterization methodology for nanomaterials and in vitro data is not yet achieved, cross-discipline discussions are a fundamental step towards a successful integration of both new data sources and new substance types into LCIA.
... The model calculates the potential impact of chemicals on ecosystems and human health. USEtox ® was launched as a consensus models in order to overcome the intrinsic differences in previously available models, such as CalTOX (McKone and Enoch 2002), USES-LCA (Huijbregts et al. 2001;Van Zelm et al. 2009), TRACI (Bare 2011), IMPACT 2002+ (Jolliet et al. 2003, EDIP 2003 (Hauschild & Potting, 2005) or MEEuP (Kemna et al. 2005), which generated toxicity impact results spanning over a few orders of magnitude (Hauschild et al. 2008;. The European Commission recommended the USEtox ® model to calculate the potential impact of chemical emissions for PEF and OEF (EC 2013a, b). ...
Purpose
The EU environmental footprint (EF) is a life cycle assessment (LCA)-based method which aims at assessing the environmental impacts of products and organisations through 16 midpoint impact categories, among which three address toxicity-related impacts. This paper presents the principles underpinning the calculation of the set of characterisation factors (CFs) for the toxicity-related impact categories in the EF version 3.0: freshwater ecotoxicity (ECOTOX), human toxicity cancer (HTOX_c) and human toxicity non-cancer (HTOX_nc).
Methods
In order to respond to the issues that emerged during the EF pilot phase, the input data and the calculation principles of the USEtox® model were updated. In particular, (i) robustness factors (RFs) were introduced to reduce the dominance of metals and to balance the lackness of a robust fate modelling for non-organic compounds in USEtox®; (ii) high-quality data were selected from databases of EU agencies (European Chemicals Agency and European Food Safety Authority) to guarantee the transparency and the reliability of input data; and (iii) a new approach based on HC20 (hazard concentration killing 20% of the exposed population) was implemented to derive freshwater ecotoxicity effect factors (EfF).
Results and discussion
The new approach increased the number of characterised chemicals in the three impact categories: ECOTOX (6038 chemicals, + 140%), HTOX_c (1024 chemicals, + 70%) and HTOX_nc (3317 chemicals, + 660%). Moreover, specific derivation principles were defined for assigning CFs also to relevant groups of chemicals (e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and specific strategies were implemented to better align LCA toxicity data with data used for risk assessment purposes.
Conclusions
The new set of CFs was calculated to ensure a broader coverage of characterised chemicals and to overcome some limitations of the USEtox® model identified during the environmental footprint pilot phase.
... Since the focus of this study is on toxicity and exergy indicators, USEtox and CExD are chosen as LCIA, which are described as follows. damages owing to contaminant emissions to urban air, rural air, indoor air, agricultural soil, and freshwater [56,57]. In this study, USEtox 2.0 is applied with three factors, namely HCT, HTNC, and FE. ...
The goal of this study is to create a novel eco-exergoenvironmental toxicity index to identify the most sustainable irrigation system among surface irrigation and drip irrigation for sunflower production in Kurdistan, Iran. This research emphasizes on choosing a sustainable irrigation agricultural system with an invented index, which considers all aspects. For this purpose, life cycle assessment (USEtox 2.0) is applied for evaluating toxicity factors and results show that the environmental situation of drip irrigation is better than that of surface irrigation. Exergy analysis results reveal that total exergy demands are 287,421 and 211,458 Megajoule per ten ton of sunflower for surface irrigation and drip irrigation scenarios, respectively. Nitrogen has the highest share (more than 50%) in all factors and exergy categories. Eco-efficiency of all toxicity factors of drip irrigation (with net profit 6,614.35). The analytic hierarchy process analysis indicates that human toxicity, cancer has the first rank of priority based on expert choices. Based on the novel index results, sustainable rates are 1.690 and 1.169 for surface irrigation and drip irrigation, respectively. Thus, drip irrigation is an eco-exergoenvironmental-friendly scenario in comparison to surface irrigation.
... To construct the life cycle inventory (LCI), data compiled from the Ecoinvent database were used as input for the SimaPro LCA software to generate outcomes [13,14]. USETox ® version 2.0 (USETox ® ) model (endorsed by the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and the United Nations Environment Program) was chosen as the LCIA methodology for this study [15][16][17]. The outputs of USETox ® are based on sets of chemical characterization factors (CFs) consisting of fate, exposure, and effect parameters. ...
BatteryBattery storage technologies such as redox flow batteries (RFBs) and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are appealing candidates for large-scale energy storageEnergy storage requirements to support the integration of renewableRenewable energy into electric grids. To ensure that their environmental benefits outweigh the environmental costs of producing battery storage systems, it is vital to assess the potential health impacts of battery materials and waste emissions during production. Here, we present a case study based on life cycle impact assessmentLife Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) to characterize the toxicity hazard associated with the production of six types of battery storage technologies including three RFBs [vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), zinc-bromine flow battery (ZBFB), and the all-iron flow battery (IFB)], and three LIBs [lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium nickel cobalt manganese hydroxide (NCM), and lithium manganese oxide (LMO)]. USETox® v2.0 (USETox®) was used for LCIA and we found higher impacts found higher impacts on human health outcomes for the production of LIBs than for RFBs, noting that uncertainties associated with the characterization factors demand caution in interpreting the results. Overall, the study provides (1) a comprehensive evaluation of life cycle impacts for materials, components, and systems associated with the production of burgeoning six batteryBatteryenergy storageEnergy storage technologies and (2) an important foundation for the identification of battery technologies with lower potential negative impacts associated with integrating energy storageEnergy storage in strategies for upscaling renewableRenewable energy sources.
... The USEtox scientific consensus model represents the state-of-the-art for assessing toxicity-related impacts in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). It was developed within the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative to overcome differences between the existing models (Hauschild et al., 2008). The USEtox model focuses only on well-understood aspects or pathways with broad scientific consensus on their modeling (Westh et al., 2015). ...
In life cycle assessments of livestock systems, toxicity-related impacts are not commonly considered or only specific aspects (such as pesticides, manufacturing of inputs) are assessed. In this context, the aim of this study was to define a framework for assessing toxicity-related impacts and to characterize human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity for a livestock product based on applying the state-of-the-art models PestLCI Consensus and USEtox. Furthermore, methodological gaps were discussed and ways forward were suggested. The case study focused on Danish pork production and the toxicity results were reported per kg ‘meat’ (the parts of pig used for human consumption) leaving the slaughterhouse. The assessment framework included the use of pesticides and heavy metals in feed production, the use of veterinary pharmaceuticals in pig production, and the manufacturing of inputs. The use of cleaning agents could not be assessed with the currently available methods. New characterization factors were calculated for 35 chemicals not available in USEtox. For Danish pork production, feed production was the main contributor to the analyzed toxicity impacts. The use of pesticides was the main driver for organic substances while heavy metal emissions related to the application of pig manure to fields were the hotspot for metal-based substances. The use of veterinary pharmaceuticals contributed only to freshwater ecotoxicity by 3%. PestLCI Consensus estimates were compared with different approaches. The impact of metabolites of pesticides and veterinary pharmaceuticals was assessed and discussed. Methodological gaps and research needs were identified regarding the assessment of pesticides, veterinary pharmaceuticals, metal-based substances, inorganic substances, and combined exposure to multiple chemicals. Better data related to the use and chemical properties of substances are needed to reduce uncertainty in toxicity modeling.
... Across the life cycle of products, thousands of pollutants can be inventoried and the modelling of their (eco)-toxicity impacts requires a consistent and integrative framework� Over the two last decades, several approaches have been proposed to assess the potential impacts of chemical substances on ecosystems and human toxicity in LCIA� Due to different equations and assumptions, these models lead to different results using different metrics and scales� To build consensus among the different modelling approaches, a global consensus model -USEtox -was designed (Hauschild et al. 2008;Rosenbaum et al. 2008)� USEtox is the consensus model endorsed by the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative for characterizing human and ecotoxicological impacts of chemicals emitted from product systems� Among all chemicals emitted from an agricultural product systems, organic pollutants (e�g� pesticides) and trace elements are of particular concern� First, they can have major (eco)-toxicity impacts� Second, their emissions occurring at field level are dependent on local conditions of practices and environment and are complex to estimate� ...
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... The conversion of material and energy flows into environmental impacts was performed through its processing in the SimaPro 9.0 software (PRé-Product Ecology Consultants, 2017). The computation of the results in the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) stage was conducted through the selection of five midpoint assessment methods: Available WAter REmaining -AWARE (Boulay et al., 2018;WULCA, 2020) for water scarcity, IMPACT 2002+ (Jolliet et al., 2003) for aquatic acidification, USEtox (Hauschild et al., 2008) for freshwater toxicity, and ReCiPe 2016 (Huijbregts et al., 2016) for climate change and freshwater eutrophication. Therefore, the results are reported in terms of emissions causing certain environmental impacts rather than as a potential damage to an area of protection, i.e. endpoint perspective (Huijbregts et al., 2016). ...
Peru has become one of the world's main agricultural hubs for a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Two of these products, avocado and green asparagus, have raised attention in recent years in the international scene from an environmental perspective due to the high amounts of water they require, as well as the long air and marine freighting distances to export these products to Europe, Asia or the US. Consequently, the aim of the current study was to perform an environmental assessment of these two products using two life-cycle methods: carbon and water footprint. For the latter, water scarcity, acidification, eco-toxicity and eutrophication impact categories have been selected for assessment. Inventory data were gathered from six different companies located in different regions of the hyper-arid Peruvian coast. The results report that the products are not carbon intensive and are in line with other similar plant-based products. Conversely, the hyper-arid conditions of the cultivation sites require a large volume of groundwater to fulfill de needs of the crops. Interestingly, even though this may lead to overexploitation of groundwater resources in the absence of appropriate management policies, the low mobility of pollutants, namely pesticides, constitutes a natural barrier to protect the degradation of natural water bodies. In conclusion, results from this study may be useful in more concise environmental assessment studies on food products and diets, considering the consumption of these Peruvian products in many countries in the world. Furthermore, results are also important at regional level since they depict the carbon and water performance of these products and can also be accompanied by cross-cutting certification schemes, including Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules Guidance.
... Therefore, it can also be said that environmental impact is the change to environment or ecosystem created by human and natural activities. The United Nations Environment Programme and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Life Cycle Initiative (UNEP/SETAC LCI) was established to evaluate the impact of chemicals in the life cycle analysis (Hauschild et al., 2008). Various impacts denoted in the form of characterization factors that implies the impact participation per unit of elementary flow (particular environmental issues). ...
For the last few years, the search for potentially sustainable green nanomaterials has been a challenge for the medicinal, cosmetics, electronics, and environmental industries. Green nanomaterials are a boon for worldwide environmental sustainability owing to their cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and socially acceptable nature. Most of the materials and synthetic procedures used for nonrenewable resources generate undesirable, harmful, and dangerous wastes. Therefore, the development of green nanomaterials using a suitable combination of nanomaterials and general green chemistry practices has been encouraged. Nanomaterials are predominantly exceptionally small, with a size range in nm and a high surface to volume ratio. These potential materials are attractive because of their distinctive properties, such as their structural, morphological, optical, and electronic characteristics. The design of these nanomaterials can be achieved via natural resources, biological processes, and nonhazardous solvents/solvent-free and energy-efficient techniques that reduce toxic wastes during large-scale production. Furthermore, outcome of large production of nanomaterials can be highlight in terms of minimize environmental impact using green chemistry principles. Metal nanomaterials mostly have a reducing nature and are costly, tremendously reactive, and lethal to the surroundings. So, instead of metal nanomaterials, green nanoparticles embedded natural resources can be used, as they are ecologically reactive and cheaper, with well-organized, interesting structural morphologies and eco-friendly natures. Energy consumption and raw materials (chemical/biological) are notable in green nanomaterial synthesis and lead to environmental impact during the production, utilization, and release throughout the whole life cycle. In view of constant advancements in the green nanomaterials field, this chapter deals with novel green nanomaterials, life cycle analysis, environmental impact, ongoing challenges, and future prospects.
... USEtox is an environmental toxicity model developed for conducting LCIAs (Hauschild et al., 2008, Rosenbaum et al., 2015 and has been used to assess the exposure and impact of toxins on human health. It differs from environmental risk assessments in that it adopts the "emitter perspective", whereas an environmental risk assessment is based on the "receptor perspective" (Cao et al., 2017, Gronlund et al., 2014. ...
Indoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is hazardous to human health. Indoor PM2.5 pollution can have indoor and outdoor sources. Outdoor sources enter the house mainly through infiltration and are difficult to control. In contrast, smoking, incense burning, and cooking are important indoor sources, and the PM2.5 concentration can be reduced by various purification methods. This study monitored PM2.5 concentrations from different indoor sources in winter and summer and evaluated the attenuation of indoor PM2.5 for different purification methods (natural attenuation, natural ventilation, air purifier, and air purifier & natural ventilation). The objective was to analyze the effect of air purifiers on indoor PM2.5 concentrations and human health using the USEtox model. The results showed that cooking fumes provided the largest contribution and smoking the smallest contribution to indoor PM2.5. The purification efficiency of air purifiers to reduce the concentrations of PM2.5 produced by smoking, incense burning, and cooking ranged from 61.79% to 86.41%, 43.48% to 83.98%, and 51.10% to 61.62%, respectively. Air purifiers reduced population health damage by 43.47% to 86.46%. The results demonstrate that air purifiers are effective for indoor PM2.5 control and population health interventions.
This research aims to address the data gaps in freshwater ecotoxicological characterization factors (CFs) for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). These CFs are essential for incorporating the ecotoxicity impacts of PFAS emissions into life cycle assessments (LCAs). This study has three primary objectives: first, to calculate a comprehensive set of experimental aquatic ecotoxicity CFs for PFASs utilizing the USEtox model (version 2.13); second, to compare these newly derived CFs with those generated using the PFAS-adapted USEtox model; and finally, to test the hypothesis concerning a potential correlation between CFs and effect factors (EFs) with the number of perfluorinated carbons in PFASs. In this study, 367 PFASs were selected from the CompTox Chemicals Dashboard PFAS suspect lists and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) registration dossiers. Experimental ecotoxicity data were extracted from CompTox Version 2.1.1 and REACH. Using both the USEtox model (version 2.13) and the PFAS-adapted USEtox model, CFs were calculated for 367 PFASs. Of these, 237 CFs were newly calculated using the HC20EC10eq-based methodology, enriching the representation of PFASs in LCA studies. The analysis revealed no correlation between the number of perfluorinated carbons and the calculated EFs and CFs using the USEtox models. This study covers only a small portion of the extensive list of millions of PFASs in PubChem, primarily due to data constraints and scarcity. Discrepancies between CFs generated by USEtox and PFAS-adapted USEtox are attributed to variations in foundational fate and exposure factor calculation methodologies, whereas ecotoxicity factors remained consistent. Consequently, it is suggested that CFs for PFASs are dependent on the modeling approach and require regular updates with the latest data to ensure accuracy and relevance.
The electrochemical hydrogenation of enones and alkenes using commercial nickel foam and an aqueous acidic solution is presented. Toxicological and screening life cycle assessments were used to identify potential “hotspots”...
Estimating comprehensive toxicity footprints, encompassing potential impacts of toxic releases from consumption on human health and ecosystems, remains challenging due to the absence of complete emission inventories and disaggregation in global economic sectors. This study proposes an integrative approach to evaluate the global toxicity footprint by combining multiple databases, inventorying methods gap‐filling/extrapolation techniques, and environmentally extended multi‐region input–output models. We incorporated industrial, residential, and agricultural emissions of 693 chemicals into air, water, and soil, assessing the toxicity footprints of 49 countries and regions and revealing the displacement of toxic impacts across regions and nations. Our results emphasize the significant sensitivity of emission inventories and toxicity footprints to the choice of extrapolation procedures in regionalized chemical inventory development. Despite considerable progress in consolidating emission data, major gaps persist in publicly available datasets, impeding accurate extrapolation of global pollutant releases and comprehensive analysis of toxicity footprints. Primary data require refinement, harmonization, and expansion to enhance toxicity footprints' accuracy, particularly concerning pesticide emissions and national Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers initiatives. This study offers crucial insights for national and regional policymakers, facilitating the creation of targeted regulations and incentives to mitigate toxic substances' environmental impact. Future research should prioritize developing input–output table projections, deriving forward‐looking time series of national emission inventories, and establishing absolute thresholds for toxic impacts within the framework of environmentally sustainable societies.
Lacustrine ecosystems have not been widely assessed for heavy metal contamination and associated health risks; yet, they could be accumulating these contaminants to the detriment of aquatic organisms and communities relying on them for various aspects. The water quality index (WQI) and concentrations of heavy metals including As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in water, sediment, Oreochromis niloticus, and in the endemic and endangered Coptodon kottae in Lake Barombi Kotto in Cameroon were determined to evaluate fish heavy metal bioaccumulation, and heavy metal exposure risk posed to communities consuming these fish species. The WQI of the lake was found to be excellent with heavy metal concentrations that were lower than what was obtained in the sediments and fish samples. Mean heavy metal concentrations in sediment ranged from 0.86 ± 0.03 mg/kg for Cd to 560.1 ± 11.15 mg/kg for Fe. In both fish species, Fe, Mn, and Cu had the highest concentrations. Though the heavy metal concentrations in the lake water were low, heavy metal bioconcentration factors for both fish species were very high ranging from 1.6 for Fe to 1568 for Mn. The concentration patterns of heavy metals in the organs of both fish species followed the order bones > gut > muscle. Consumption of these two fish species contributes less than 1.0% of the permissible tolerable daily intake (PTDI) and provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of these metals with lead (Pb) having the potential to exceed permissible exposure levels when high amounts of these fish are consumed by adults.
Agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA) at the sub-national regional level may be a valuable input for the decision-makers. Obtaining representative and sufficient data to develop life cycle inventories (LCIs) at that level is a relevant challenge. This study aims to contribute to the development of LCIs representative Spanish crops based on average economic and operational information available in official sources to assess the average environmental impacts of these crops in the main producing regions. A comprehensive approach is proposed considering both the temporal variability and uncertainty of input data by using different methods (e.g. linear programming, weighted averages, Monte Carlo simulation, forecasted irrigation, etc.) to estimate the inventory data of reference holdings. From these inventories, the environmental assessment of the reference holdings is carried out. Two case studies are developed, on orange and tomato crops in the main producing regions, where climate change (CC), freshwater scarcity (WS), human toxicity non-cancer (HTnc), and freshwater ecotoxicity (ET) are evaluated. The environmental scores obtained differ significantly from region to region. The highest environmental scores of orange reference holdings correspond to Comunidad Valenciana for CC (1.94·10⁻¹ kg CO2 eq.) HTnc (4.16·10⁻¹¹ CTUh) and ET (7.45·10⁻³ CTUe), and to Andalucia in WS (17.4 m³ world eq.). As to greenhouse tomatoes, the highest scores correspond to Comunidad Valenciana in the four categories analysed (CC = 3.18 kg CO2 eq., HTnc = 3.6·10⁻⁹ CTUh, ET = 1.5 CTUe and WS = 13.3 m³ world eq.). The environmental scores estimated in this study are consistent with the literature, showing that the approach is useful to obtain a representative description of the environmental profile of crops from official statistical data and other information sources. Widening the data gathered in ECREA-FADN, and also that from other data sources used, would increase the quality of the environmental impact estimation.
Lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling has received continued interest in recent years due to its benefits, which include reducing the environmental impact of spent LIBs and providing a secondary source of valuable metals, such as Li, Co, and Ni. This paper characterized the Li separation with D2EHPA from citrate media as a function of pH and identified the optimal overall Li separation at a pH of 5.5. The Li separation was optimized at a pH of 5.5, with which it was concluded that 23 vol.% D2EHPA and an O/A ratio of 4 provided the best Li separation, for which 66.1% Li was extracted with 26.9% residual Mn, 6.8% Co, and 7.7% Ni in a single stage. The formation of a reversible hydrophobic third phase was identified during Li extraction at a pH of 5.5 or greater. Investigation of the third phase revealed that more than 99% of the Li, Co, and Ni were extracted to the third phase, while more than 69% of the Mn was extracted to the organic phase. STEM images of the third phase revealed a honeycomb-like structure, which was hypothesized to be a 2D mesoporous film caused by the insolubility of the organometallic complexes in the aqueous and organic phase.
Life cycle analysis and exergy analysis are applied to compare the production of maleic anhydride from different feedstock, both biomass‐ and petrochemical‐derived raw materials, in order to evaluate the sustainability of alternative biorefinery processes to conventional routes. The considered processes involve two options: gas and aqueous phase furfural oxidation with oxygen (air) and hydrogen peroxide as oxidants, respectively, considered as sustainable technologies because of the use of renewable feedstock. Conventional routes, used as benchmarks, include the current production processes using benzene or butane as raw materials. The results show that the aqueous phase process is far from being viable from an energy and environmental point of view due to the high exergy destruction and the use of H2O2 as oxidant (whose production entails important environmental drawbacks). On the contrary, the gas phase oxidation of furfural shows competitive results with petrochemical technologies. Nevertheless, the major environmental drawback of the new furfural‐to‐maleic anhydride production processes is detected on the environmental profile of the starting raw material. The results suggest that a better environmental footprint for maleic anhydride production in gas phase can be obtained if environmentally friendly furfural production technologies are used at the commercial scale.
Agricultural recycling of organic waste (OW) derived from urban, agricultural and agroindustrial sources is an essential sustainable development strategy. Yet repeated application of nutrient-laden OW in crop fields can also drastically boost contaminant levels in soil. This review focuses on the consideration of three categories of OW-borne contaminants, namely trace elements, organic contaminants and pathogens (including antibiotic resistance), in environmental assessments, chiefly involving life cycle assessment (LCA) and risk assessment (RA). The in-depth discussion also focuses on gaps between empirical knowledge and the models underlying these frameworks. Potential improvements to fill the identified gaps are proposed, including novel approaches and uses of existing approaches, while also featuring various levels of “readiness.” Finally, a comprehensive theoretical framework to assess OW recycling scenarios, combining complementary approaches and models, is proposed and exemplified.
Given the serious problems of climate change, water shortage and water pollution, researchers have paid increasing attention to the concepts of the carbon footprint and water footprint as useful indices to quantify and evaluate the environmental impacts of the textile industry. In this study, assessment of the carbon footprints and water footprints of ten kinds of cashmere fabrics was conducted based on the PAS 2050 specification, the Water Footprint Network approach and the ISO 14046 standard. The results showed that knitted cashmere fabrics had a greater carbon footprint than woven cashmere fabrics. Contrarily, woven cashmere fabrics had a greater water footprint than knitted cashmere fabrics. The blue water footprint, grey water footprint and water scarcity footprint of combed sliver dyed woven cashmere fabric were the largest among the ten kinds of cashmere fabrics. The main pollutants that caused the grey water footprints of cashmere fabrics were total phosphorus (TP), chlorine dioxide, hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) and sulfide. The leading contributors to the water eutrophication footprint were total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand and TP. These typical pollutants contributed 39% ~ 48%, 23% ~ 28%, 12% ~ 24% and 12% ~ 14% to each cashmere product’s water eutrophication footprint, respectively. The leading contributors to the water ecotoxicity footprint were aniline, Cr (VI) and absorbable organic halogens discharged in the dyeing and finishing process.
The chemical footprint (ChF) can identify the harmful effects of discharged chemical pollutants, helping producers to select environmentally friendly chemicals to reduce their negative environmental impact. This paper quantified and evaluated the ChF of the wet processing of cotton fabric with data collected from a dyeing enterprise. The results showed that the discharged sodium hydroxide caused the most severe impact in terms of both human toxicity and ecotoxicity due to the extensive usage and its high toxicity. The discharged sodium carbonate and dimethyl silicone oil also had a greater environmental impact. Comprehensive evaluation of human toxicity and ecotoxicity with a multi-objective grey target decision-making model indicated that the pretreatment process had the most significant impact, followed by the finishing process and dyeing process. More attention should be paid to the pretreatment process, such as the selection of environmentally friendly textile chemicals, in order to reduce the native impacts of the wet processing of cotton fabric.
Fashion industry consumes over 60% of global fibers and attracts increasing attentions due to its environmentally polluting supply chain. In addition to natural fibers cultivation, wet processes of textile manufacturing are also important contributors to water-related impacts due to their large freshwater consumption and the production of chemicals containing wastewater. Despite of efforts made in improving efficiency of water use and wastewater treatment in textile industry, innovative ‘water-free’ technologies, such as nonaqueous dyeing technology using organic solvent, have been developed and demonstrated to reduce water consumption significantly. However, the potential impact on water quality by organic solvents induced in supply chain of this emerging technology remains unassessed, posing an unknown risk of its promotion. Hence, in the present study, a comprehensive life cycle assessment is applied to evaluate its full environmental impacts, including those on ecosystem and human health caused by decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) as the solvent used. Further, the nonaqueous dyeing system is compared with traditional aqueous dyeing technology from both environmental and economic perspectives. Results indicate that nonaqueous dyeing system is advanced in most of environment categories except for abiotic depletion potential (ADP) and Ecotoxicity. However, scenarios analysis reveal that these findings are influenced by the loss fraction of D5 during the solvent recovery process. It is suggested that the loss fraction should be controlled below 2% o.w.f. for the nonaqueous dyeing technology to be advanced throughout all environmental categories. Nonaqueous D5 dyeing could reduce water consumption by 61.30%-79.95% and greenhouse gas emissions by 43.70% compared to the traditional system, delivering a promising contribution to China's 2060 carbon neutrality ambition. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are also conducted to investigate the effects of the key parameters (incl. inventory data and USEtox model inputs) and demonstrate the robustness of our assessment.
Pyrometallurgical recovery of nonferrous metals involves a combination of thermally intensive transformations during exothermic gas-phase reactions, endothermic decomposition of solid charge, and meltingMelting of simpler solids. In the recovery of secondary leadLead, simultaneous thermal effects in a reverberatory-style furnace cause a melt pool to accumulate at the bottom, with lighter solids (slag) floating above and gaseous products from decomposition of the charge diffusing through the gas–slag interface. Species from oxy-fuel combustionOxy-fuel combustion of natural gas, species profiles from smeltingSmelting reactions, and the formation of a melt pool consisting primarily of leadLead are simulated via a time-averaged formulation. Predictions of outflow are compared with preset inflow profiles to ensure conservation of mass. Thermal profiles for solid, liquid, and gas phases are presented by species. A novel method is implemented to model the latent heat of fusion using a heterogeneous chemical reaction. The simulation is conducted in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ v. 16.02.009-R8.
One of the focus areas for research conducted by the PyrometallurgyPyrometallurgy Division at Mintek in South Africa is decarbonisation of the metals industryMetals industry. In a country with a large pyrometallurgical industry, based primarily on carbonaceous primary reduction processes and electricity generated primarily by coal-fired power stations, the challenge can be viewed from a number of perspectives. The paper provides a summary of the projects currently underway, where the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) ranges from TRL 1 to TRL8.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can easily diffuse into atmosphere, causing deleterious effects on human health via different exposure pathways due to their high volatility and toxicity. The methodology of chemical footprint (ChF) can be used to quantitatively distinguish the harmful toxicity impacts of emitted chemical pollutants, providing reference for enterprises to improve their production technologies as well as selecting environmental-friendly chemicals to mitigate negative environmental effects. In this paper, a new method combining the emission characteristics of VOCs and their human toxicity was proposed for ChF calculation and assessment of VOCs generated in the production of polyester fabrics. The results showed that VOCs emitted from dyeing and finishing process had the largest ChF, followed by crude oil refinery process, polycondensation process and spinning process, of which the ChFs were 3.34E-02 Cases, 2.25E-03 Cases, 8.10E-04 Cases, 4.09E-01 Cases, respectively. According to the operation characteristics of each process, tridecyl polyoxyethylene ether, n-hexane, p-xylene and 2, 6-di-tert-butyl para-cresol were the specific VOCs pollutants, occupying the largest proportion of ChFs in dyeing and finishing process, crude oil refinery process, polyester polycondensation process and spinning process respectively. Additionally, alkanes and oxygenated VOCs (e.g. ethers and esters) with high toxicity are the major VOCs species in polyester production emissions. Considerable attention should be paid to the improvement of technology and selection of heat resistant dyestuff and auxiliaries in the dyeing and finishing process of polyester fabrics.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the working surface of landfills have received increasing attention due to the potential risks to human health. Quantifying the emission rates of risky VOCs is important to their health risk assessment but is also challenging because of their high variation and complicated relationship between the emission rates and various influencing factors. In this study, a continuous nine-month sampling of VOCs was conducted on a landfill working surface to identify dominant VOCs that are risky to human health and to construct artificial neural network (ANN) models for their emission rates by involving 105 datasets. Among the 63 detected VOCs, ethanol presented the highest emission rate (885.28 ± 1398.10 μg·m⁻²·s⁻¹), and the dominant compounds with high emission rates and detection frequencies were characterized in each category. According to the human toxicity impact scores calculated with USEtox method, carbon tetrachloride, ethanol, tetrachloroethylene, 1, 2-dichloroethane, benzene, ethylbenzene, and chloroform were identified as the dominant carcinogenic VOCs, and acrolein, carbon tetrachloride, and 1, 2-dichloropropane were the dominant noncarcinogenic VOCs. ANN models were established for the emission rates of six typical risky VOCs, with meteorological conditions and waste compositions as input parameters and emission rates as output parameters. With the structure optimization and genetic algorithm, all the ANN models achieved good performance and excellent prediction capability with high R² and low root mean square error (RMSE) values. The emission rates under a 95% probability were predicted for each risky VOCs via the established ANN models, by randomly sampling the input parameters under their data distribution. The approach proposed and results obtained can provide scientific methodology and important information for the monitoring, prediction, and health risk assessment of the VOCs emitted from MSW landfills.
This study conducted a consequential Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on two similar mid-rise apartment buildings applying either concrete or cross laminated timber (CLT) as the main structural material. The study further investigated inclusion of biogenic carbon and how this affects environmental impacts related to Global warming. Thus, two assessment scenarios were applied: A Base scenario, without accounting for biogenic carbon and a Biogenic carbon scenario that include a GWPbio factor to account for the use of biogenic carbon. The CLT building had the lowest impact score in 11 of 18 impact categories including Global warming. Operational energy use was the main contributor to the total impact with some variation across impact scores, but closely followed by impacts embodied in materials (incl. End-of-Life). An evaluation of the potential forest transformations required for fulfilling future projections for new building construction in 2060 showed that about 3% of current global forest area would be needed. This share was essentially independent of the selected building material as the main driver for forest transformation was found to be energy use during building operation. Thus, focus should primarily be on reducing deforestation related to energy generation rather than deforestation from production of building materials.
In this chapter, the link between life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is discussed. For the feasibility of conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) and for making its results more robust, it is necessary that data collected in the LCI stage are suitable for the LCIA methods, and in particular for comparative studies, it is relevant to provide matching levels of detail for all compared options. Four illustrative examples are provided: (i) the differences in receiving compartment resolution for toxic emissions, (ii) differences in stressor resolution for particulate matter formation, (iii) lacking characterization factors for metal use, and (iv) lacking characterization factors for sum parameters and not fully specified emissions (such as BOD, TOC and “alkanes, unspecified”). Two important lessons to consider for maintaining a strong link between LCI and LCIA are highlighted based on these examples. First, it is suggested that it is important to have the same resolution between LCI data and LCIA methods. Scenario analysis, where different resolutions are assumed and tested, can be a strategy in cases where differences in resolutions are unavoidable. Second, ways to handle the absence of characterization factors are discussed, including the development of additional characterization factors that match the available LCI data and derivation of characterization factors from process information.
The overuse of chemicals has been causing serious global pollution. Toxicity assessment and screening of chemicals effectively contribute to individualised management and control of toxic and harmful chemicals that are released into the environment. Moreover, they can protect the ecological environment and human health from the effect of these substances. This study is researching for A Textile Company in Suzhou, China, and uses the USEtox consensus model to calculate the toxic effects of pollution emissions on the ecological environment. In addition, the pollutants that should be controlled first are screened and identified through comprehensive analysis of accounting results. Results show that heavy metals are a major source of potential ecotoxicity and pollutants to be prioritised. Considering the total ecotoxicity ranking, category ranking and rankings within categories of pollutants discharged by A company, copper, nickel and manganese in heavy metals; tetrachlorophenol and pentachlorophenol in chlorinated chemicals; and nonylphenol/branched-4-nonylphenol and 4-octylphenol in alkylphenols should be primarily controlled. From the perspective of terminal control, the study puts forward that the objects of corporate environmental management should be transformed from ‘medium management (wastewater, waste gas and waste residue)’ to ‘substance management (chemical)’ and provides empirical evidence for the management and control of toxic and hazardous substances from ‘comprehensive pollutant management’ to ‘single pollutant management’. The research results can provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for scientific decision-making in order to achieve priority management and control of pollutants and reduce the ecotoxic effects of chemical pollutants.
The light duty vehicle fleet in the UK is being electrified aggressively, with an ambitious target to ban the sale of all new internal combustion engine cars by 2030. At the same time, the electricity grid is also undergoing rapid decarbonization, potentially paving the way for a much greener use phase for electric vehicles. The paper presents a holistic prospective life cycle assessment of the environmental implications of these two interrelated transitions, while also considering an alternative scenario characterised by a gradual shift from traditional private vehicle ownership to shared mobility schemes. The results for both scenarios point to clear benefits in terms of reduced demand for non-renewable energy, carbon emissions and local air quality. However, a decisive behavioural shift towards shared mobility is shown to be crucial in order to offset the increased demand for Li, Co, Ni, Mn and Cu for electric vehicle power trains, and to avoid an otherwise potential increase in abiotic resource depletion and human toxicity impacts.
The inconsistency caused by different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods is a long-term challenge for the life cycle assessment (LCA) community. It is necessary to systematically analyze the differences caused by LCIA methods and facilitate the fair comparison of LCA results. This study proposes an effective method of conversion factors (CFs) for converting the results of 8 LCIA methods for 14 impact categories and then demonstrates its application in the construction sector. Correlation analyses of the datasets of construction materials are conducted to develop CFs for the impact categories. A set of conversion cards are devised to present the CFs and the associated correlation information for the LCIA methods. It is revealed that the differences between LCIA methods are largely caused by the characterization methods, rather than due to the metrics. A comparison based only on the same metrics but ignoring the underlying LCIA mechanisms is misleading. High correlations are observed for the impact categories of climate change, acidification, eutrophication, and resource depletion. The developed CFs and conversion cards can greatly help LCA practitioners in the fair comparison of LCA results from different LCIA methods. Case studies are conducted, and verify that by applying the CFs the seemingly incomparable results from different LCIA methods become comparable. The CF method addresses the inconsistency problem of LCIA methods in a practical manner and helps improve the comparability and reliability of LCA studies in the construction sector. Suggestions are provided for the further development of LCIA conversion factors.
To assess environmental and human exposure to chemical emissions, two types of approaches are available: 1. intermediate- to high-resolution, substance/location-specific analyses, and 2. lower resolution, less specific analyses aiming for broad coverage. The first category is time/resource intensive, which limits its utility, while the second is less accurate but allows for evaluation of large numbers of substances/situations. None is well suited for analyzing local to global population exposure. We need a multi-scale approach of intermediate complexity that bridges the advantages of both approaches: high resolution when relevant, the ability to evaluate large numbers of substances, and a level of accuracy that is “useful” (for decision-makers). This thesis aims to 1. develop a multi-scale, multimedia fate and transport, and multi-pathway population exposure modeling framework, 2. evaluate it using large-scale inventories of emissions and measured environmental concentrations, 3. evaluate local to global population exposure associated with large sets of point sources covering a wide variety of local contexts (e.g. up/down-wind/stream from large populations, important water bodies or agricultural resources), and 4. simulate a large national inventory of emissions and perform multi-media source apportionment. Coupling a geographic information system and a computation engine, we develop the Pangea framework, which offers a unique ability to discretize the globe using three-dimensional multi-scale grids, to overlay Eulerian fate and transport multimedia models, and to compute multi-pathway population exposure. We first apply this framework to predict the fate and transport of home and personal care chemicals in all of Asia. This study provides a large-scale high-resolution spatial inventory of emissions and a large data set of ~1,600 monitoring values. We compare predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) and measurements and find good agreement for the long-lived triclosan in fresh water (Pearson r=0.82), moderate agreement for shorter-lived substances, and a large discrepancy specifically for parabens in sediments. This study highlights the limitation of the present underlying gridded hydrological data set (WWDRII) when comparison with measurements at monitoring sites is required, which prompts the evaluation of a finer, catchment-based hydrological data set (HydroBASINS). We then focus on human exposure and the evolution of the population intake fraction with the distance from the source. We simulate emissions from 126 point sources (stacks of solid waste treatment plants) in France, and compute radial distributions of population intake fractions through inhalation and ingestion. We determine that a substantial fraction of emissions may be taken in by the population farther than 100 km away from point sources (78.5% of the inhaled benzene and 54.1% of the ingested 2,3,7,8-TCDD). We demonstrate the feasibility of simulating large numbers of emission scenarios by extending the study to 10,000 point sources. We finally extend the previous emitter-oriented studies with receptor-oriented analyses (source apportionment). We simulate 43 substances emitted from 4,101 point sources defined by the Australian National Pollutant Inventory for 2014-2015. We compute population exposure and severity (DALY). Formaldehyde, benzene, and styrene are the three top contributors in terms of DALYs. We demonstrate the technical feasibility of multimedia, large-scale source apportionment. This research opens new perspectives in spatial, local to large-scale fate and exposure modeling. The flexibility of Pangea allows to build project-specific model geometries and to re-analyze projects following the evolution of data availability. Major limitations come from the underlying first-order fate and transport models and from a limited availability of global spatial data sets.
Widespread observations of organic pollutant compounds in vegetation, soil, animals, and human tissue have motivated research on more accurate characterizations of chemical transport over regional, continental, and global scales. Efforts to assess human and ecosystem exposure to contaminants from multiple environmental media have been evolving over the last several decades. In this review, we summarize the development and evolution of the multimedia mass-balance approach to pollutant fate and exposure evaluation and illustrate some of the calculations used in multimedia assessments. The concepts that form the foundation of Mackay-type mass-balance compartment models are described, and the ongoing efforts to use multimedia models to quantify human exposures are discussed. A series of case studies of varying complexity are used to illustrate capabilities and limitations of selected multimedia approaches. We look to the future and consider current challenges and opportunities in the field of multimedia contaminant fate and exposure modeling.
This article is the preamble to a set of articles describing initial results from an on-going European Commission funded,
5th Framework project called OMNIITOX, Operational Models aNd Information tools for Industrial applications of eco/TOXicological
impact assessments. The different parts of this case study-driven project are briefly presented and put in relation to the
aims of contributing to an operational life cycle-impact assessment (LCIA) model for impacts of toxicants. The present situation
has been characterised by methodological difficulties, both regarding choice of the characterisation model(s) and limited
input data on chemical properties, which often has resulted in the omission of toxicants from the LCIA, or at best focus on
well characterised chemicals. The project addresses both problems and integrates models, as well as data, in an information
system- the OMNIITOX IS. There is also a need for clarification of the relations between the (environmental) risk assessments
of toxicants and LCIA, in addition to investigating the feasibility of introducing LCA into European chemicals legislation,
tasks that also were addressed in the project. Keywords: Case studies; characterisation factor; chemicals; environmental risk
assessment; hazard assessment; information system; life cycle impact assessment (LCIA); potentially toxic substances; regulation;
risk assessment; risk ranking
Background and ObjectiveIn the OMNIITOX project 11 partners have the common objective to improve environmental management tools for the assessment
of (eco)toxicological impacts. The detergent case study aims at: i) comparing three Procter &c Gamble laundry detergent forms
(Regular Powder-RP, Compact Powder-CP and Compact Liquid-CL) regarding their potential impacts on aquatic ecotoxicity, ii)
providing insights into the differences between various Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods with respect to data needs
and results and iii) comparing the results from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with results from an Environmental Risk Assessment
(ERA).
Material and MethodsThe LCIA has been conducted with EDIP97 (chronic aquatic ecotoxicity) [1], USES-LCA (freshwater and marine water aquatic ecotoxicity,
sometimes referred to as CML2001) [2, 3] and IMPACT 2002 (covering freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity) [4]. The comparative product
ERA is based on the EU Ecolabel approach for detergents [5] and EUSES [6], which is based on the Technical Guidance Document
(TGD) of the EU on Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) of chemicals [7]. Apart from the Eco-label approach, all calculations
are based on the same set of physico-chemical and toxicological effect data to enable a better comparison of the methodological
differences. For the same reason, the system boundaries were kept the same in all cases, focusing on emissions into water
at the disposal stage.
Results and DiscussionSignificant differences between the LCIA methods with respect to data needs and results were identified. Most LCIA methods
for freshwater ecotoxicity and the ERA see the compact and regular powders as similar, followed by compact liquid. IMPACT
2002 (for freshwater) suggests the liquid is equally as good as the compact powder, while the regular powder comes out worse
by a factor of 2. USES-LCA for marine water shows a very different picture seeing the compact liquid as the clear winner over
the powders, with the regular powder the least favourable option. Even the LCIA methods which result in die same product ranking,
e.g. EDIP97 chronic aquatic ecotoxicity and USES-LCA freshwater ecotoxicity, significantly differ in terms of most contributing
substances. Whereas, according to IMPACT 2002 and USES-LCA marine water, results are entirely dominated by inorganic substances,
the other LCIA methods and the ERA assign a key role to surfactants. Deviating results are mainly due to differences in the
fate and exposure modelling and, to a lesser extent, to differences in the toxicological effect calculations. Only IMPACT
2002 calculates the effects based on a mean value approach, whereas all other LCIA methods and the ERA tend to prefer a PNEC-based
approach. In a comparative context like LCA the OMNIITOX project has taken the decision for a combined mean and PNEC-based
approach, as it better represents the ‘average’ toxicity while still taking into account more sensitive species. However,
the main reason for deviating results remains in the calculation of the residence time of emissions in the water compartments.
Conclusion and OutlookThe situation that different LCIA methods result in different answers to the question concerning which detergent type is to
be preferred regarding the impact category aquatic ecotoxicity is not satisfactory, unless explicit reasons for the differences
are identifiable. This can hamper practical decision support, as LCA practitioners usually will not be in a position to choose
the ’right’ LCIA method for their specific case. This puts a challenge to the entire OMNIITOX project to develop a method,
which finds common ground regarding fate, exposure and effect modelling to overcome the current situa-tion of diverging results
and to reflect most realistic conditions.
Background, aim and scope In 2005, a comprehensive comparison of life cycle impact assessment toxicity characterisation models was initiated by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)-Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Life Cycle Initiative, directly involving the model developers of CalTOX, IMPACT 2002, USES-LCA, BETR, EDIP, WATSON and EcoSense. In this paper, we describe this model comparison process and its results-in particular the scientific consensus model developed by the model developers. The main objectives of this effort were (1) to identify specific sources of differences between the models' results and structure, (2) to detect the indispensable model components and (3) to build a scientific consensus model from them, representing recommended practice.
Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43849/1/11367_2006_Article_8145.pdf
We employ the intake fraction (iF) as an effective tool for expressing the source-to-intake relationship for pollutant emissions in life cycle analysis (LCA) or comparative risk assessment. Intake fraction is the fraction of chemical mass emitted into the environment that eventually passes into a member of the population through inhalation, ingestion, or dermal exposure. To date, this concept has been primarily applied to pollutants whose primary route of exposure is inhalation. Here we extend the use of iF to multimedia pollutants with multiple exposure pathways. We use a level III multimedia model to calculate iF for TCDD and compare the result to one calculated from measured levels of dioxin toxic equivalents in the environment. We calculate iF for emissions to air and surface water for 308 chemicals. We correlate the primary exposure route with the magnitudes of the octanol-water partition coefficient, K-ow, and of the air-water partitioning coefficient (dimensionless Henry constant), K-aw. This results in value ranges of K-ow, and K-aw where the chemical exposure route can be classified with limited input data requirements as primarily inhalation, primarily ingestion, or multipathway. For the inhalation and ingestion dominant pollutants, we also define empirical relationships based on chemical properties for quantifying the intake fraction. The empirical relationships facilitate rapid evaluation of many chemicals in terms of the intake. By defining a theoretical upper limit for iF in a multimedia environment we find that iF calculations provide insight into the multimedia model algorithms and help identify unusual patterns of exposure and questionable exposure model results.
In life-cycle assessment (LCA), it is desirable to compare quantities of chemicals released into the environment in terms of the risk and consequences of toxicological effects. Many current methods rely directly on adaptations of regulatory-orientated approaches. The resultant hazard-based indicators reflect differences in maximum likely individual exposure in the region for an emission and differences in regulatory limits. Such regulatory hazard-based indicators, however, may not provide a consistent basis for relative comparison across chemicals in terms of toxicological risk, as they were not designed for this application purpose. It is therefore essential to consider other methods in LCA to provide comparative estimates, taking into account the full extent of toxicological risks and differences in consequences. This article provides a step-by-step description of the methodological similarities and differences between such risk and hazard based indicators for LCA. An example for benzo[a]pyrene demonstrates a risk-based methodology, highlighting relationships with regulatory approaches and problems that remain in current practice.
Toxicity potentials are standard values used in life cycle assessment (LCA) to enable a comparison of toxic impacts between substances. In most cases, toxicity potentials are calculated with multi-media fate models. Until now, unrealistic system settings were used for these calculations. The present paper outlines an improved model to calculate toxicity potentials: the global nested multi-media fate, exposure and effects model USES-LCA. It is based on the Uniform System for the Evaluation of Substances 2.0 (USES 2.0). USES-LCA was used to calculate for 181 substances toxicity potentials for the six impact categories freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, marine aquatic ecotoxicity, freshwater sediment ecotoxicity, marine sediment ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity and human toxicity, after initial emission to the compartments air, freshwater, seawater, industrial soil and agricultural soil, respectively. Differences of several orders of magnitude were found between the new toxicity potentials and those calculated previously.
We employ the intake fraction (iF) as an effective tool for expressing the source-to-intake relationship for pollutant emissions in life cycle analysis (LCA) or comparative risk assessment. Intake fraction is the fraction of chemical mass emitted into the environment that eventually passes into a member of the population through inhalation, ingestion, or dermal exposure. To date, this concept has been primarily applied to pollutants whose primary route of exposure is inhalation. Here we extend the use of iF to multimedia pollutants with multiple exposure pathways. We use a level III multimedia model to calculate iF for TCDD and compare the result to one calculated from measured levels of dioxin toxic equivalents in the environment. We calculate iF for emissions to air and surface water for 308 chemicals. We correlate the primary exposure route with the magnitudes of the octanol-water partition coefficient, Kow, and of the air-water partitioning coefficient (dimensionless Henry constant), Kaw. This results in value ranges of Kow and Kaw where the chemical exposure route can be classified with limited input data requirements as primarily inhalation, primarily ingestion, or multipathway. For the inhalation and ingestion dominant pollutants, we also define empirical relationships based on chemical properties for quantifying the intake fraction. The empirical relationships facilitate rapid evaluation of many chemicals in terms of the intake. By defining a theoretical upper limit for iF in a multimedia environment we find that iF calculations provide insight into the multimedia model algorithms and help identify unusual patterns of exposure and questionable exposure model results.
Multimedia fate and multipathway human exposure models are widely adopted in assessments of toxicological risks of chemical emissions at the regional scale. This paper addresses the question of how much spatial detail is necessary in such models when estimating the intake by the entire population in large, heterogeneous regions such as Europe. The paper presents a spatially resolved multimedia fate and multipathway exposure model for Western Europe, available as IMPACT 2002. This model accounts for relationships between the location of food production and drinking water extraction as well as where population cohorts live relative to where chemical emissions occur. The model facilitates estimation of environmental concentration distributions, related levels of contaminants in foods, and the fraction of a chemical release that will be taken in by the entire human population (the intake fraction) at the regional scale. To evaluate the necessary spatial resolution, the paper compares estimates of environmental concentrations and the intake fraction from the spatially resolved model with the results of a consistent clone without spatial resolution. An evaluation for disperse emissions of PeCDF (2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran, CAS# 5120731-4) suggests reasonable agreement with monitoring data for most impact pathways with both versions of the model, but that the generic vegetation models for estimating contaminant concentrations in agricultural produce require improvement. A broader comparison for a range of organic chemicals demonstrates that the nonspatial models are likely to be appropriate in general for assessing dispersed sources of emissions. However, it is necessary to include generic compartments in such nonspatial models to account separately for emissions that enter lakes with long residence times versus rivers that feed directly into seas. For assessing an emission source in a specific location, using models that are not spatially resolved can result in underestimation, or overestimation, of the population's intake by at least 3 orders of magnitude for some chemicals.
Life-cycle assessments have important limitations, but efforts are under way to improve the methodology.
Overall persistence (Pov) and long-range transport potential (LRTP) of organic chemicals are environmental hazard metrics calculated with multimedia fate and transport models. Since there are several models of this type, it is important to know whether and how different model designs (model geometry, selection of compartments and processes, process descriptions) affect the results for Pov and LRTP. Using a set of 3175 hypothetical chemicals covering a broad range of partition coefficients and degradation half-lives, we systematically analyze the Pov and LRTP results obtained with nine multimedia models. We have developed several methods that make it possible to visualize the model results efficiently and to relate differences in model results to mechanistic differences between models. Rankings of the hypothetical chemicals according to Pov and LRTP are highly correlated among models and are largely determined by the chemical properties. Domains of chemical properties in which model differences lead to different results are identified, and guidance on model selection is provided for model users.
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Udo de Haes, H. A.; Finnveden, G.; Goedkoop, M.; Hauschild, M.; Hertwich, E.; Hofstetter, P.; Jolliet, O.; Klö, W.; Krewitt, W.; Lindeijer, E.; Mü ller-Wenk, R.; Olsen, I.; Pennington, D.;