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The search for an appropriate end-of-life formula for the purpose of the European Commission Environmental Footprint initiative
PURPOSE: This paper aims at developing a single formula for calculating the environmental impact related to the End-of-Life processes of a product in the context of the European Commission Environmental Footprint (EC EF) method. The latter aims at a higher degree of comparability of environmental assessments. The aim of the End-of-Life formula in the EC EF method was to enable the assessment of all possible scenarios including recycling, reuse, incineration (with heat recovery) and disposal for both open- and closed-loop systems. METHOD: Several End-of-Life formulas were analysed in terms of physical realism, distribution of burdens in a product cascade system and applicability. The formulas were implemented for several products and for different scenarios regarding recycled content and recyclability to check the robustness of the outcomes. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: As reaching physical realism was proven to be impossible at both the product and overall product cascade system level, priority needs to be given to one. A product level approach was preferred in the context of the EC EF. This approach however requires allocation of the impacts of processes related to more than one product in a product cascade system and should be carefully considered as it has a major influence on the results and decision taking. CONCLUSION: A formula taking into account the number of recycling cycles of a material was identified as preferred to reach physical realism and distribution of burdens in a product cascade system. However, it failed in terms of applicability because of low data availability. Instead, a formula based on the 50:50 approach - allocating the environmental impacts equally between the previous and subsequent product – was selected for the EC EF method.
Publication
Environmental sustainability for engineers and applied scientists
\"This textbook presents key theoretical approaches to understanding issues of sustainability and environmental management, perfectly bridging the gap between engineering and environmental science. It begins with the fundamentals of environmental modelling and toxicology, which are then used to discuss qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods, and environmental assessments of product design. It discusses how business and government can work towards sustainability, focusing on managerial and legal tools, before considering ethics and how decisions on environmental management can be made. Students will learn quantitative methods while also gaining an understanding of qualitative, legal, and ethical aspects of sustainability. Practical applications are included throughout, and there are study questions at the end of each chapter. PowerPoint slides and jpegs of all the figures in the book are provided online. This is the perfect textbook on environmental studies for engineering and applied science students\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Soil heavy metal pollution and risk assessment associated with the Zn-Pb mining region in Yunnan, Southwest China
The environmental assessment and identification of sources of heavy metals in Zn-Pb ore deposits are important steps for the effective prevention of subsequent contamination and for the development of corrective measures. The concentrations of eight heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in soils from 40 sampling points around the Jinding Zn-Pb mine in Yunnan, China, were analyzed. An environmental quality assessment of the obtained data was performed using five different contamination and pollution indexes. Statistical analyses were performed to identify the relations among the heavy metals and the pH in soils and possible sources of pollution. The concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn were extremely high, and 23, 95, 25, and 35% of the samples, respectively, exceeded the heavy metal limits set in the Chinese Environmental Quality Standard for Soils (GB15618-1995, grade III). According to the contamination and pollution indexes, environmental risks in the area are high or extremely high. The highest risk is represented by Cd contamination, the median concentration of which exceeds the GB15618-1995 limit. Based on the combination of statistical analyses and geostatistical mapping, we identified three groups of heavy metals that originate from different sources. The main sources of As, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu are mining activities, airborne particulates from smelters, and the weathering of tailings. The main sources of Hg are dust fallout and gaseous emissions from smelters and tailing dams. Cr and Ni originate from lithogenic sources.
Journal Article
The ethics of precaution : uncertain environmental health threats and duties of due care
\"There are thousands of substances manufactured in the U.S., to which the public is routinely exposed and for which toxicity data is limited or absent. Some insist that uncertainty about the severity of potential harm justifies implementing precautionary regulations, while others claim that uncertainty justifies the absence of regulations until sufficient evidence confirms a strong probability of severe harm. In this book, Levente Szentkirâalyi overcomes this impasse in his defense of precautionary environmental risk regulation by shifting the focus from how to manage uncertainty to what it is we owe each other morally. He argues that actions that create uncertain threats wrongfully gamble with the welfare of those who are exposed, and neglect the reciprocity that our equal moral standing demands. If we take the moral equality and rights of others seriously, we have a duty to exercise due care to strive to prevent putting them in possible harm's way. The Ethics of Precaution will be of great interest to researchers, educators, advanced students, and practitioners working in the fields of environmental political theory, ethics of risk, and environmental policy\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism
This book is a study of the interrelationship between risk regulation, public law, and theories of legitimate administrative governance.
eBook
Science and Decisions
Risk assessment has become a dominant public policy tool for making choices, based on limited resources, to protect public health and the environment. It has been instrumental to the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other federal agencies in evaluating public health concerns, informing regulatory and technological decisions, prioritizing research needs and funding, and in developing approaches for cost-benefit analysis.
However, risk assessment is at a crossroads. Despite advances in the field, risk assessment faces a number of significant challenges including lengthy delays in making complex decisions; lack of data leading to significant uncertainty in risk assessments; and many chemicals in the marketplace that have not been evaluated and emerging agents requiring assessment.
Science and Decisions makes practical scientific and technical recommendations to address these challenges. This book is a complement to the widely used 1983 National Academies book, Risk Assessment in the Federal Government (also known as the Red Book). The earlier book established a framework for the concepts and conduct of risk assessment that has been adopted by numerous expert committees, regulatory agencies, and public health institutions. The new book embeds these concepts within a broader framework for risk-based decision-making. Together, these are essential references for those working in the regulatory and public health fields.
eBook
Facing catastrophe : environmental action for a post-Katrina world
In this contribution to environmental law, the author argues for a new perspective on disaster law that is based on the principles of environmental protection. His prescription boils down to three simple commands: 'Go Green', 'Be Fair', and 'Keep Safe'.
Book
OECD Case Studies of Integrated Regional and Strategic Impact Assessment: What Does ‘Integration’ Look Like in Practice?
Increasingly, protocols for assessing the impacts of land-uses and major resource development projects focus not only on environmental impacts, but also social and human health impacts. Regional and Strategic Environmental Assessment (RSEAs) are one innovation that hold promise at better integrating these diverse land-use values into planning, assessment, and decision-making. In this contribution, a realist review methodology is utilized to identify case studies of “integrated RSEA”—those which are strategic, have a regional assessment approach, and seek to integrate environmental, community and health impacts into a singular assessment architecture. The results of a systematic literature review are described and six RSEA-like case studies are identified: Kimberly Browse LNG SEA; HS2 Appraisal of Sustainability; Lisbon International Airport SEA; Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment; Nordstream 2 Transboundary EIA; and the Portland Harbour Sustainability Project. The case studies are examined according to their unique contexts, mechanisms and outcomes of their assessment protocols to determine the degree to which they consider more than environmental valued components, and the means by which they were included. Findings suggest that RSEA has a contentious relationship with the integration of more than environmental values, but that there are significant lessons to be learned to support project planning, especially for assessment contexts characterized by large, transboundary projects.
Journal Article