Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6.7 Risk and benefits of wastes implicate the hazards and values of the waste and the
characteristics of the environment and its users.
addition to the sensitivity of the land use, the way of using and the applied control
measures also influence the risk of the utilized waste.
Benefits on the other pan of the balance include environmental, social, and
economic benefits together. Even if a waste contains hazardous chemical sub-
stances or materials, its utilization for the suitable purpose may be so beneficial
that benefits may overweight the risks. The same thinking is applied to chemical
substances.
SEA is always the last and decisive step of every management and decision-making
process: only economically (financially) feasible options can be selected and applied
over the long term, and the social well-being and well-feeling of the users of the land
concerned has to be ensured.
7 LIFE CYCLE THINKING SHOULD BE INTEGRATEDWITH
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF CHEMICALS
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental impacts associated
with a specific product, supply chain, and waste management option. This allows
comparisons to be made between the environmental impacts of different products,
technology, or management options.
Life cycle thinking incorporates the basic approach of life cycle assessment accord-
ing to the methodology and requirements set out in the standards on LCA (ISO 14040,
2006). To assess the life cycle of products or technologies, a range of referenced data
sources are used with representative and validated data.
Steps and activities of LCA include definition of the goal and scope of the LCA, life
cycle inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation with reporting. Every
LCA needs a critical review indicating the limitations and conditions for the use of
the results. An LCA evaluates and characterizes generic environmental problems of
climate change, impacts on air, water, and resource depletion. The environmental risk
of hazardous chemical substances cannot be included in LCA.
Climate change, or global warming, an issue of global concern refers to the
increase in the average temperature of the earth's surface. This is caused by emissions
of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. Direct
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