The Impact Assessment Phase

The impact assessment phase consists of ejqthcitly stating and interpreting the results obtained during the inventoiy, in terms of environmental infracts, in a sufficiently summarized form as to be comprehensible for a non-specialist. This phase should enable the analyst to prepare the communication of the elementary data relating to the product s environmental impact. It is particularly sensitive. 

The inventory and impact assessment phases of LCA have different end results. The inventory component quantifies energy use, the masses of inputs, and the mass loadings of products, wastes, and releases on a systemwide basis. In contrast, the extrapolation of these mass-loading data generates a diverse spectrum of qualitative... 

The standard ISO 14042 divides the phases of the impact assessment into mandatory and optional elements. 

Determining the impact assessment requires classification of each impact into one of these categories, characterization of the impact to establish some kind of relationship between the energy or materials input/output and a corresponding natural resource/human health/ecological impact, and finally the evaluation of the actual environmental effects. Many life cycle analyses admit that this last phase involves social, political, ethical, administrative, and financial judgments and that the quantitative analyses obtained in the characterization phase are only instruments by which to justify policy. A truly scientific life cycle analysis would end at the characterization phase, as many of the decisions made beyond that point are qualitative and subjective in nature. 

The previous two phases - inventory and impact assessment - represent the domain of expertise of LCA. Indeed, the approach here is very technical, and the data voluminous. In the interpretation phase of LCA, it is the user, the responsible party, the decision maker, who uses the results of the impact assessment in order to determine the main actions to be taken, which must take other dimensions (research and development, marketing, production, finance, etc.) into consideration. 

Life-Cycle Interpretation is the phase of life-cycle assessment in which the findings of either the inventory analysis or the impact assessment, or both, are combined in consistence with the defined goal and scope in order to reach conclusions and recommendations. 

The methodological and scientific framework for impact assessment is still being developed. Models for impact categories are in different stages of development. There is subjectivity in the life cycle impact assessment phase such as the choice, modelling and evaluation of impact categories. Therefore, transparency is critical to impact assessment to ensure that the assumptions are clearly described and reported. 

Interpretation is the phase of LCA in which the findings from the inventory analysis and the impact assessment are combined to reach conclusions and make recommendations. 

Upon obtaining the LCI representing the system under evaluation, the next phase is to assess these inputs and outputs for their potential impact. The impact assessment (lA) phase of an LCI/A is the evaluation of potential human health and environmental impacts of the environmental resources and releases identified during the LCI. IA addresses ecological and human health effects as well as resource depletion (e.g., water. 

Life cycle assessment is defined by ISO 14040 as compilation and evalu ation of inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The ISO standards regulate the procedural aspects of LCA. They do not, however, provide all the information required for carrying out an LCA study. The main phases of LCA are goal and scope definition, inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation. The various applications of LCA are not regulated by the standard (Fig. 15.1). 

The inventory results should be presented in clear form, how much and what substances from the environment enter the system and how much get out. These results serve for subsequent life cycle impact assessment [48], The aim of the life cycle impact assessment is to measurably compare the environmental impacts of product systems and to compare their severity with new quantifiable variables identified as impact category. The impact categories are areas of specific environmental problems such as global warming, climate changes, acidification, eutrophication, ecotoxicity and others. Already in the phase of definition of the LCA study scope, it is necessary to describe what impact category will be applied and which of their environmental mechanisms will serve as a basis for impact assessment [46],... 

Emissions of DEHP during use of the cushion vinyl floor covering appear to have a negligible contribution in the total weighted score. However, the assessment of the impact of the DEHP emission on human health is based on a characterization model that is developed for outdoor emissions, Usetox. The emission of DEHP during the use phase of the floor covering is indoors and therefore fate and the human exposure... 

Niclosamide, formulated as the ethanolamine salt, was determined in formulations and the impact of residues on the environment assessed [82], Efficient (>85%) phase-transfer, N, Odimethylation of niclosamide and the synthesized 5-deschloro analog internal standard, followed by gas-liquid chromatography separation and electron-capture detection, permitted the determination of as little as 10 ppb analyte in fortified, stagnant water. 

EMEA, European Agency for the Evaluation of Medical Products. Guideline on environmental impact assessment (EIAS) for veterinary medical products-phase I. CVMP/VICH/592/98-Final London 2000... 

Organic-Phase Nondealities. To assess the impact of nonideality in the organic matter, we assume for illustrative purposes that Yw/oc w e9uals unity. Consequently, Equation 14 simplifies to... 

Aboul-Kassim [1] studied the characterization, chemodynamics, and environmental impact assessment of organic leachates from complex mixtures. He reported that an important factor in controlling the rate of solid phase adsorption reactions is the type and quantity of solid phase components as well as the time period (i. e., short vs long) over which the organic contaminant has been in contact with the solid phase. 

Population PK screening in Phase II and Phase III is useful in assessing the impact of altered hepatic function (as a covariate) in PKs, if those patients are not excluded from Phase II and III trials, and if there is sufficient PK information collected about the patients to characterize them reasonably well. If a population PK approach is used, patients in Phase II and III studies are assessed for encephalopathy, ascites, serum bilirubin, serum albumin, and prothrombin time (which are components of the Child-Pugh score) or a similar group of measures of hepatic function. The population PK study, then, would include the following features ... 

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