Life cycle considerations assessment

Resource and environmental profile analysis (REPA), the forerunner to the current practice of life cycle assessment, focused on quantifying the energy requirements and emissions of a product or process but not the impacts on human health or the ecosystem. Ideally, according to the originators of REPA, the analysis would be linked to a risk assessment of emissions related to a process or product [91,92]. It is worth noting, with respect to the theme of this book, that REPA originated in 1969. Environmental life cycle considerations did not formally enter into product development or modification before that time. 

It follows that any maintenance program introduced for specific plant and equipment must be designed so that all maintenance costs are recorded. This would then be taken into consideration when the life-cycle cost of the item is assessed, as it should be added to the loss of production if this has occurred due to any maintenance malfunction. Care must be taken when presenting the life-cycle cost to ensure that all elements within the cost cycle have been effective. 

The life cycle approach for considering energy at the business strategy level can be applied to any product, provided that sufficient consideration is given to the contributing factors. The level of detail can be adjusted to allow for different levels of data availability or understanding, but it is important to assess the need for different energy consumption factors within the life cycle of the product. 

The Ecodesign Directive can include selected pollutants in life cycle assessment considerations (connected with the topic resource efficiency). This does, however, not cover the topic RISKCYCLE. 

Depending on the aim of the study, appropriate life-cycle methods and scope have to be chosen [27]. Most of the methods either consider all stages of the ENM or nanoproduct life-cycle, or focus only on specific parts of the life-cycle. For example, some methods focus only on the environmental health effects of ENMs, whereas life-cycle assessment (LCA) focuses on all environmental impacts of a nanoproduct, and thus also includes considerations such as impacts of energy consumption. LCA is essentially a comprehensive tool for environmental sustainability assessment. 

For pesticide risk assessment, recovery is taken into account to derive an NOEAEC (no-observed ecologically adverse effect concentration). A maximum of 8 weeks is often taken as an acceptable recovery period, but the life cycle of the affected species should also be taken into consideration (SANCO 2002). 

Safety Considerations, Life Cycle Assessment and Green Metrics... 

Eigure 2 illustrates how the life-cycle inventory fits within a life-cycle assessment. The LCI, shown as the large box at the top center of Figure 2, provides essential data regarding resource use and emissions to air, water, and ground. The impact assessment examines aspects of product production and use that are not considered in the LCI impacts on ecosystem and human health, implications for long-term resource availability, and considerations relative to social equity and well being. 

Eco-efficiency assessment focuses in principle on the entire life cycle, but then concentrates on specific events in a life cycle where the alternatives under consideration differ. Eco-efficiency analysis includes the cost data as well as the straight life cycle data. Eigure 5.3 shows that life cycle assessment is based on the environmental profile, which can be obtained, for example, from data provided by the plants and which includes the path from the cradle to the work-gate. On extending this approach to the entire life cycle, a life cycle assessment is obtained. Adding to these additional assessment criteria again, followed by an economic assessment, then leads to an eco-efficiency analysis (Figure 5.4). 

Simonson M, Boldizar A, Tullin C, Stripple H, Sundquist JO (1998) The incorporation of fire considerations in the life-cycle assessment of polymeric composite materials a preparatory study. SP Swedish National Testing and Research Institute, SP Report 1998 25, Boras 1998... 

---