Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Picture 4.1
Satellite image of spiral strands of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) in Lake Atitlán,
Guatemala. The harmful bloom is the result of runoff of nutrient rich waters.
Courtesy of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2009.
(EPS), and Eco-Indicator. EcoPoints is a measure in a single score of the overall impact of
products or processes on the environment. It works on the principle that importance of an
effect is evaluated in terms of the distance between the current level and the target level of the
particular effect. The EPS method is a holistic approach that calculates the total “environmen-
tal impact load” of the product during it life cycle and is expressed in environmental load units
(Steen, 1999). The Eco-Indicator is probably the most accepted single-score indicator method.
It is a distance-to-target method that works on the grounds that the severity of an effect depends
on the current values in reference to the desired values. Effects listed in the Eco-indicator are
greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity (air), human toxicity (water), human
toxicity (soil), ecotoxicity (water), ecotoxicity (soil), summer smog, acidification, eutrophica-
tion, odor, depletion of biotic and abiotic raw materials, noise, ecosystem degradation, and
direct victims. The most recent version is the Eco-Indicator 99, which is an updated version
of Eco-Indicator 98 and 95. More details about this topic can be found in Goedkoop and
Spriensma (2001).
Variations of LCAs
The full cradle-to-grave LCA includes all inputs and outputs in the life cycle of a product
from generation of raw materials (e.g., exploitation of natural resources, energy, ingredi-
ents, etc.) to manufacturing (with all the intermediate inputs and outputs during this stage)
and ending with the disposal of the spent product back into the earth. For food products,
however, this is not the case because the ultimate disposal of food (sewer treatment) is
normally not included in the analysis. LCAs for food products are generally set at the
stage when the product reaches the customer; thus, LCA becomes a
cradle-to-gate
assess-
ment or more specifically,
soil-to-kitchen
LCA. If the burdens of home food storage and
preparation are included in the analysis, then it is a
soil-to-table
or
farm-to-fork
LCA.
Packaging and the percentage of product that does not reach the customer as a result of
spoilage (typically perishable products) could well be integrated in the LCA as a final
