The Alternatives Assessment

While the assessments of the chemicals in the 14 mixtures indicated that the alternatives had a lower level of concern for persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity compared with pentaBDE, each chemical was of concern for at least one of the key hazard endpoints and had at least some potential routes of exposure. 

The majority of alternatives had moderate or high concern for aquatic toxicity and moderate concern for systemic toxicity, mostly based on measured data. All but two of the chemicals are foam additives, increasing the chance of release from foam to the environment. More positively, many of the alternative chemicals have only low or 

Proprietary orgar phosphate ester Triphenyl phospl CAS  

Since the completion of the furniture flame retardancy partnership, which moved the industry towards alternatives for the chemical of concern, pentaBDE, the DfE Program has developed partnerships to evaluate Agency priority chemicals (http // www.epa.gov/dfe/altemative assessments.html). These partnerships will assist product manufacturers as they identify safer chemical alternatives [22]. 

---

Under pressure from the EPA and others, the manufacturer of pentaBDE voluntarily moved to phase out production at the end of 2004. The EPA believed that it was important both to inform the substitution decisions that would inevitably result from this phase out, and to understand the potential for unintended consequences that could result. Alternatives were identified that could meet fire safety requirements but that did not pose the same level of concern as pentaBDE. This alternative assessment complemented EPA regulatory action, a significant new use rule ( SNUR ), that prevented future manufacture of pentaBDE without prior notification to the EPA, effectively a ban on the chemical. The results from the alternatives assessment were used by foam manufacturers to make real-time decisions on substitutions to alternative flame retardants. 

An example of using the LCA approach for informed substitution is the DfE LCA for tin-lead and promising lead-free solder alternatives for electronics. The alternatives assessment was conducted at the request of the electronics industry, as it prepared for compliance with the European Union (EU) Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, which includes a phase-out of the use of lead in electronic products. With estimates of worldwide tin-lead solder use at over 176 million lb (80 million kg) per... 

Alternative assessment theories challenge us to consider assessment within a complicated rhetorical context. As a whole, the alternative assessment movement seeks to move beyond scientistic notions of reliability and validity to promote rhetorical assessment. In seeking approaches to valid assessment that align validity with ethical and social concerns as well as with statistical concerns, alternative assessments seek to create new understandings of writing. 

The Green Screen for Safer Chemicals fits within the context of the alternatives assessment framework developed by the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production. It is a... 

The correct viscose age or ripeness for spinning varies according to the type of fiber being made. Ripeness can be assessed by estabHshing the salt concentration necessary to just coagulate the viscose dope. The preferred test uses sodium chloride (salt figure) although ammonium chloride is the basis of the alternative method (Hottenroth number). 

If the procedures were not regularly updated or were otherwise incorrect, or if training was inadequate, PI errors could occur. P2 errors would often arise as a result of misdiagnosing a situation, or if the entry conditions for executing a sequence of operations were ambiguous or difficult to assess and therefore the wrong procedure was selected. It is important to note that if a planning error occurs, then this implies that a detailed analysis needs to be conducted of the alternative course of action that could arise. 

An ElA can be particularly useful in distinguishing the relative environmental impact of alternative sites, processes and strategies for industrial, rural or urban development. Decision-makers to choose the alternative that will provide maximum economic and social benefits with the minimum of environmental disturbance can then use this essential environmental information, together with financial and political considerations. Guidelines for assessing... 

The basic schemes for electrical power generation and combined heat and power have been identified in the earlier sections of this chapter. When assessing the alternatives to meet a specific project need, many factors will strongly influence the size, number, and type of generator as well as its specification and scope. While it is not intended to cover all of these aspects, the more important issues are discussed. 

Consider requirements for electrical isolation in order to restrict the spread of protective current. Alternatively assess extra current allowance for unrestricted spread. 

The efficacy of the alternative instmctional programme in facilitating students understanding of the triplet relationship lends support to the instructional strategies that were implemented in the programme. Also, the RSCRDI has been successfully utilised as a convenient diagnostic tool for assessing students proficiency in the use... 

Recently, there has been a growth of interest in the development of in vitro methods for measuring toxic effects of chemicals on the central nervous system. One approach has been to conduct electrophysiological measurements on slices of the hippocampus and other brain tissues (Noraberg 2004, Kohling et al. 2005). An example of this approach is the extracellular recording of evoked potentials from neocortical slices of rodents and humans (Kohling et al. 2005). This method, which employs a three-dimensional microelectrode array, can demonstrate a loss of evoked potential after treatment of brain tissue with the neurotoxin trimethyltin. Apart from the potential of in vitro methods such as this as biomarkers, there is considerable interest in the use of them as alternative methods in the risk assessment of chemicals, a point that will be returned to in Section 16.8. 

Following an assessment of the criteria in Table 3.2 it may become evident that there is only one viable route, but more probably two or three options will be difficult to choose between. In this case the alternatives should be screened experimentally to refine the data in Table 3.2 and to complete a pro-forma similar to that shown in Table 3.3. 

The need to evaluate alternatives often arises once the decision to eliminate chemicals of concern is made. Sometimes a chemical of concern can be eliminated through product design such as through the use of a material that is inherently flame retardant or a fabric barrier without the need for added flame-retardant chemicals. But when the only currently feasible option appears to be a chemical substitution, then the alternatives must be evaluated and assessed to ensure that they are in fact greener than the chemical they are intended to replace. We provide as examples of implementing alternatives assessment, the Green Screen for Safer Chemicals and the DfE Flame Retardants in Printed Circuit Boards Partnership. 

The Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute has developed an Alternatives Assessment Process Guidance for its analysis of substitutes to five chemicals in Massachusetts. 

A comparative analysis among the alternatives to assess the relative performance of each alternative with respect to each evaluation criterion... 

During the detailed analysis, each alternative is assessed against the evaluation criteria. The results provide decision-makers with sufficient information to adequately compare the alternatives, select an appropriate remedy for a site, and demonstrate satisfaction of the CERCLA remedy selection requirements in the record of decision ... 

Regional climate should be the first consideration when evaluating the suitability of an alternative landfill cover for a site. If the regional climate appears to be compatible with the requirements of the alternative cover, then site characteristics should be examined to determine whether the site climate is also suitable. Site and regional climate may differ substantially for sites near mountains, in valleys, in the rain shadow of coastal mountains, or near the coast. The Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence commissioned a generic assessment of the suitability of the ET landfill cover based on regional climate for the continental United States.4... 

Although the ability to minimize percolation is a performance criterion for final cover systems, limited data are available about percolation performance for final cover systems for both conventional and alternative designs. Most of the recent data on flux rates have been generated by two federal research programs, the Alternative Landfill Cover Demonstration (ALCD)84 and the Alternative Cover Assessment Program (ACAP). From these programs, flux rate performance data are available for 14 sites with demonstration-scale ET cover systems.5,39,85... 

Benson, C.H., Albright, W.H., Roesler, A.C., and Abichou, T., Evaluation of final cover performance Field data from the Alternative Landfill Cover Assessment Program (ACAP), Proceedings, WM 2002 Conference, Tucson, Arizona, February 24-28, 2002. 

Roesler, A.C., Benson C.H., and Albright, W.H., Field Hydrology and Model Predictions for Final Covers in the Alternative Cover Assessment Program-2002, Geo Engineering Report 02-08, University of Wisconsin-Madison, September 2002. 

Finally, in Chapter 7, I describe some of the alternatives to medication for the treatment of depression and assess the evidence for their effectiveness. One of my aims is to provide essential scientifically grounded information for making informed choices between the various treatment options that are available. 

---