Environmental impact values

The specific potential environmental impact values for each impact category for the chemicals involved in the process are shown in Table 1. Details of the method for calculating these data appear in reference [7], Using these data, the overall PEI of each chemical can be obtained according to Eq. (4). 

The specific potential environmental impact values for each category for the chemicals used in this case study [9]... 

Table VII. Relative Environmental Impact Values for Batteiy Metals Utilizing Various Assessment Evaluation Methods...

Table IX. Environmental Impact Values per Kilowatt-Hour Lifetime Energy For AA-Sized NiCd Batteries at Two Recycling Levels...

The relative contributions to the environmental impact values for AA-sized NiCd batteries are further shown graphically in Figure 7 as functions of both battery... 

Figure 7. The Effects of Recycling, Performance and Composition on the Environmental Impact Values for AA-Sized NiCd Batteries...

CBA relies heavily on the costs of environmental impacts. Some impacts may be easily expressed in monetary values, like crop loss or even increased morbidity among people. Others, like impact on biodiversity and the depletion of natural resources, are more difficult to describe in terms of monetary values. Large time scales and global impacts also complicate the methodology and confuse the understanding of the results. Some of the environmental consequences of today s activities appear only after several hundred or thousand yeats. Even low interest rates tend to diminish these types of impact, even if they are very large. 

Evaluate Effectiveness on the Basis of Outputs and Acceptance Once the system has been implemented on its chosen site, its effectiveness needs to be evaluated at frequent intervals so that corrective action can be taken in the event of problems. The first criterion for success is that the system must generate unique insights into the causes of errors and accidents, which would not otherwise have been apparent. Second, the system must demonstrate a capability to specify remedial strategies that, in the long term, lead to enhanced safety, environmental impact and plant losses. Finally, the system must be owned by the workforce to the extent that its value is accepted and it demonstrates its capability to be self-sustaining. 

The half-life, f1/2, of a substance is the time needed for its concentration to fall to one-half its initial value. Knowing the half-lives of pollutants such as chlorofluoro-carbons allows us to assess their environmental impact. If their half-lives are short, they may not survive long enough to reach the stratosphere, where they can destroy ozone. Half-lives are also important in planning storage systems for radioactive materials, because the decay of radioactive nuclei is a first-order process. 

Impact Assessment. One of the more common methods of assessing the data is to put a numerical value on various potential environmental impact criteria namely ... 

Both the value of and problems associated with LCA are evident from a study of the many assessments carried out on the environmental impact of... 

To express that it is not just the amount of waste but rather its environmental impact, Sheldon introduced the environmental quotient EQ as the E factor multiplied by an unfriendliness quotient, Q, which can be assigned a value to indicate how undesirable a byproduct is. For example, Q = 0 for clean water, 1 for a benign salt, NaCl, and 100-1000 for toxic compounds. Evidently, catalytic routes that avoid waste formation are highly desirable, and the more economic value that is placed on, for example, the unfriendliness quotient, the higher the motivation to work on catalytic alternatives. Waste prevention is much to be preferred over waste remediation. 

Applying the techniques that have worked so well in commodity chemicals to the higher value sectors will reduce environmental impact and improve the economics, but the gains wiU be smaller. In particular, the economic benefits may not justify the investment in improvement. Further reduction in environmental footprint will require a new way of looking at the problem. 

A common assumption is that reduced environmental impact must be paid for by higher prices or lower profit margins. This is a dangerous assumption because it reinforces the idea that environmental issues are a problem and cost. With good design you can achieve reduced impact and higher value at the same time. 

Streamlined LCA methods are still too complicated for many applications. So proxy measures have been developed that use a single value to represent the environmental impact of a product or material. Examples include ... 

Service. The basic idea of service extension is to capture more value in the intangible part of the product. This means that increasing revenue does not necessarily mean increasing the physical resources used, with their related costs and environmental impacts. This dematerialisation is a strong trend across industry, even within manufacturing. Solution... 

Negative externalities arise when an action by an individual or a group implies harmful effects on others such as unintended dispersion of chemicals to land, air and water air pollution effects on health forest growth or fish reproduction. When negative externalities are generated they should be internalized into the market economy. By internalizing the externalities the economic value of environmental impacts are allocated to the pollution sources and included in the economics of the activities causing the problem. This would also allow for the market to function properly and thereby reach a socially optimal level of environmental impacts. 

Having explored the term externalities and its implications, this chapter presents methods used to assert economic values to externalities related to environmental impacts. 

In order for various environmental impacts to be measured on a single scale, they must be valued in monetary units. The monetary valuation of different effects is not a straightforward procedure since many of the effects have no direct market value. To set a total value on the environment, relevant values are divided into three groups use values, option values and non-use values. 

Fig. 1 Summary of economic welfare values related to environmental impacts and valuation methods applicable for the values [20]...

Another method used at times is the Standard price method. This method presents environmental values as corresponding to the mitigation costs needed to avoid environmental degradation. The main disadvantage of this method is that the environmental value derived is poorly linked with the environmental impact. 

Valuation of environmental impacts can consist of both monetary values and nonmonetary weights to make it easier to estimate total effects from different products and projects. 

As an industrial and commercial product, PVA is valued for its solubility and biodegradability, which contributes to its very low environmental impact. Several microorganisms ubiquitous in artificial and natural environments — such as septic systems, landfills, compost and soil — have been identified and they are able to degrade PVA through enzymatic processes. 

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