Life cycle assessment relevance

Another key pillar is the Integrated Product Policy (IPP). IPP aims to reduce the environmental impact of products. Relevant initiatives include pilot projects, the creation of an EU Platform on life cycle assessment (EGA), and product prioritization. 

There is a nearly endless number of possible environmental impacts causally interconnected through environmental impact pathways or cause-effect chains (see example in Fig. 1 for the impacts associated with emissions of N- and P-compounds causing eutrophication of the environment). Life cycle assessment attempts to address all relevant impacts of a product life cycle (ISO 2006) and has therefore had to develop a systematic approach to the classification of envi-rmunental impacts and the quantitative expressimi of how large an envirOTunental impact is caused by an emission or a physical interventimi. 

The last form of environmental impact assessment is assumed to have the strongest relevance for the users of the CIRPedia, and the rest of the entry is hence focused on the environmental impact assessment performed as part of a life cycle assessment in support of environmental assessment of products, services, systems, or technologies. 

Use of life-cycle assessment techniques to analyze material choices, processes, and waste disposal continues to increase. Some countries in Europe require life-cycle analysis before products are introduced. The U.S. EPA and the Department of Energy have jointly sponsored research to develop the tools and information needed for life-cycle analysis-based decisions about solid waste management strategies. The results of this project have already undergone peer review by experts, and are scheduled to be released in 2000. This study includes both economic and environmental aspects, and will have relevance internationally as well as in the United States. ... 

Life cycle assessment(s) (LCA) is a tool for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with products or services. LCA involves compiling an inventory of inputs and outputs of the relevant product system, which are then evaluated, along with interpretation of the results of the inventory analysis and impact assessment in relation to the objective of the study, to determine the potential impact of the product/service on the environment [19]. 

These early life cycle assessments provided estimates of exposure and risk in the United States that do not appear to have been revisited since. The US EPA has collected some relevant data under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program, however, which are presented in Section 4.2.7. 

The life cycle inventory is a quantification of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental release data associated with the production of cotton fixrm cradle-to-gate (fiber) and manufacturing from gate-to-gate (fabric). The associated life cycle assessment models the environmental impact of representative cotton apparel from the field through to consumer care, use and disposal. 

There are three kinds of reeovering the use as secondary raw material (the recycled material is re-used in the initial cycle), the use for another application in the textile seetor, and the use in a new line of business. Manufacturers must choose the most relevant solutions, among many possibilities, for their products. To make their decision, they can use the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). 

Life cycle assessment is a methodology to assess the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service. ISO 14040 and 14044 are international standards for developing LCA, which has four steps that include definition of goal or scope, inventory of relevant material and energy inputs and relevant environmental outputs, evaluation of environmental impacts per functional unit, and interpretation of results. 

Assessing the environmental risks associated with additives along the whole product s life cycle at a global scale is an issue of paramount relevance, which requires the development of proper methodologies and effort to gather information. 

Inventory analysis involves data collection and calculation procedures to quantify relevant inputs and outputs of a product system. These inputs and outputs may include the use of resources and releases to air, water, and land associated with the system. These data also constitute the input to the life-cycle impact assessment. 

This section reviews the different cell types reported for the six Phaeocystis species which are considered here according to their revised taxonomic status as recommended by Baumann et al. (1994), Medlin et al. (1994) and Vaulot et al. (1994). This is particularly relevant for the species globosa, which has long been referred to as pouchetii in the previous literature (e.g., Parke etal. 1971 Kayser 1970 Admiraal and Venek-amp 1986 Veldhuis et al. 1991 Davidson and Marchant 1992a). The seasonal distribution of the different cell types in the natural environment will also be considered in order to assess their role in the life cycle. 

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