The Opportunities and Pitfalls of
Applying Life Cycle Thinking to
Nanoproducts and Nanomaterials
Mary Ann Curran, PhD
curran.maryann@epa.gov
Life Cycle Assessment
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Office of Research and Development
National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268
November 4-5, 2009
Life Cycle Assessment
An industrial environmental management approach to
look holistically at products, processes, and activities.
Raw Material
Acquisition
End-of-Life
Management
Reuse
Recycling
Use/Maintenance
1
Production
Antimicrobial Silver in Socks
Refinement
Silver Ore
Mining
Transport
Silver
Feedstock
Nanocomponent
Manufacturing
Transport
Distribution
Disposal
2
Use
Nanoproduct
Manufacturing
Using LCA to “understand the global
environmental consequences of our
local choices.”
3
Time Magazine, March 23, 2009
Worldwide interest in the life cycle
concept is ignited by several factors
• Increased concerns about Global Climate Change
(Al Gore’s 2006 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth”).
• Walmart’s quest to develop a Sustainability Index for the
products they carry.
• The US Green Building Council’s promotion of
sustainable buildings and the LEED standard.
• General interest by companies to be ‘green’ and
‘sustainable.’
4
Meyer D, Curran MA, and Gonzalez MA (2009)
“An Examination of Existing Data for the
Industrial Manufacture And Use of
Nanocomponents and Their Role in the Life
Cycle Impact of Nanoproducts,” ES&T 43(5);
pp1256-1263.
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Aspects of Applying Life Cycle
Thinking to Nanoproducts
• Abridged Boundaries: Cradle-to-Gate
• Life-Cycle Based Risk Assessment
• Scale-Up to National Production Levels
• Energy Demands
• Global Climate Change Focus
• Need for Decision Support
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Glossary
• Life Cycle Concept: consideration of all the connected activities within an
industrial system from cradle-to-grave, i.e. the product life.
• Life Cycle Assessment: a standardized process to quantify natural
resources used and wastes released to the environment from cradle-tograve; to assess the impact of quantities; and to identify opportunities to
affect environmental improvements.
• Screening Level or Streamlined Assessment
• Detailed Life Cycle Assessment
• Life Cycle-Based Approach: use of the life cycle concept to view a
product system from cradle to grave but limit the study to a predetermined area of concern, such as energy use, global climate change,
material use, etc.
• Life Cycle Management: the integration of environmental, economic,
technological, risk, implementation, and societal aspects of products &
services on a life cycle basis.
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Life Cycle Stages
Product System
Boundary
• Raw Material
Acquisition
• Material
Natural
Resources
Air
Emissions
• Use and
Maintenance
• End-of-Life
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Water
Effluents
Solid
Waste
Reuse
• Production
Recycling
Processing
Study Boundary
Cradle-to-Gate Studies
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Natural
Resources
Solid
Waste
Recycling
Such studies are
helpful in improving the
product supply chain
but may miss important
impacts that occur at
end of life.
Water
Effluents
Reuse
Cradle-to-gate
boundaries – excluding
downstream activities
past product
manufacture – can be
called an LCA BUT
claims must relate to
what was studied and
not be overstated.
Air
Emissions
Study boundary
An Effective
Life Cycle Assessment
• Examines system-wide effects (cradle-to-grave)
• Analyzes multi-media (air, water, waste, etc.)
• Analyzes multi-attributes (all impacts)
• Helps identify trade-offs among alternatives
• Identifies opportunities for improvement
• Supports environmental decision making
• Provides the cornerstone of Sustainability
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ISO Standards for LCA
ISO provides a standardized methodology for conducting
multi-media, cradle-to-grave environmental assessments:
• ISO 14040 “Life Cycle Assessment –
Principles and Framework” 1997
• ISO 14044 “Life Cycle Assessment –
Requirements and Guidelines” 2006
* ISO – International Standards Organisation
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ISO 14040
Life cycle assessment framework
Goal and
Scope
Definition
Inventory
Analysis
Impact
Assessment
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Interpretation
Midpoint and Endpoint Impacts
Emissions (CFCs, Halons)
Chemical reaction releases Cl- and BrCl-, Br- destroys ozone
MIDPOINT measures ozone depletion potential (ODP)
Less ozone allows increased UVB radiation
which leads to following ENDPOINTS
skin cancer
crop damage
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immune system suppression
cataracts
marine life damage
damage to materials like plastics
Life Cycle Impact Assessment
Indicators of Potential Impact
Impact Category
• Global Warming
• Ozone Depletion
• Acidification
• Eutrophication
• Smog Formation
• Human Toxicity
• Eco-toxicity
• Waste
• Resource Use
• Water
• Land Use
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Indicator Measurement
kg CO2 equivalents
CFC-11 equivalents
kg SO2 equivalents
kg PO43- equivalents
kg Ethene equivalents
HTx equivalents
ETx equivalents
kg Waste
kg Scarce Resources
m3 Water
being developed
Principal Investigator: Jane Bare, Sustainable Technology Division
• Most scientifically defensible
methodologies for use within the US.
• Useful for LCA, Benchmarking,
Product/Process Comparisons,
policies and guidelines. Available for
Setting Sustainability Metrics,
site-specific or generic site analyses.
etc.
• Consistent with US EPA regulations,
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• Models to the Midpoints.
Nano Risk Framework
ED-DuPont Nano Partnership, 2007
The life cycle concept is used to systematically account
for the nature of nanomaterials and their applications
and evaluate safety.
Iterate
Nano Risk Framework ED-DuPont Nano Partnership, 2007
Describe
Material
&
Application
Profile
Lifecycle(s)
•Properties
•Hazards
Evaluate
Risks
Assess
Risk
Management
Decide,
Document
& Act
•Exposure
Assess, prioritize & generate data
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Review
&
Adapt
Classical Risk Assessment &
Life Cycle Risk Assessment
• “Classical” Risk Assessment characterizes the nature and
magnitude of health risks to humans and the environment
from potential chemical contaminants and other stressors.
• Comprehensive Environmental Assessment (CEA)
– Integrates Life Cycle Thinking and Risk Assessment.
– Identifies potential releases and risk at points along the
life cycle.
–Focuses on a select chemical or stressor.
–CEA is not an LCA.
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Scaling Up to National
Production Levels
• A clearly defined goal for an LCA:
– Determines the scope of the study
– Sets the boundaries and scale
– Identifies the product or process function
– Sets the Functional Unit
– Defines the level of data detail & quality
• Basing the functional unit on potential market share
rather on a single product will be result in more
apparent impacts, such as resource use.
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Life Cycle Thinking
At times, there is confusion between
LCA and other Life Cycle Based Approaches.
Life Cycle Based Approaches use the life cycle concept
to view a product system from cradle to grave but limit
the study to a pre-determined area of concern, such as:
Energy Use
Global Climate Change
Material Use
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Life Cycle Management
Technical
Feasibility
Environmental
Impacts (LCA)
Costs ($)
Viability
Risk
Analysis
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Societal
Benefits
Integrated
Decision-Making
Suggested Reading
• Curran, M.A. (ed.) (1996) Environmental Life Cycle Assessment, McGraw-
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Hill, ISBN 0-07-015063-X.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA (2006). Life Cycle Assessment:
Principles and Practice, EPA/600/R-06/060, available on-line,
www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/lcaccess.
Horne R, Grant T, and Verghese K. (2009). Life Cycle Assessment:
Principles, Practice and Prospects. ISBN: 9780643094529; 160PP;
CSIRO Publishing, Australia.
Guinee, J., Ed. (2001). Life Cycle Assessment: An Operational Guide to the
ISO Standards.
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, SETAC (1990). A
Technical Framework for Life Cycle Assessments. J Fava, R Denison, B
Jones, MA Curran, B Vigon, S Sulke, and J Barnum (eds), 152 pages.
Curran, M. A. (2008). Human Ecology: Life Cycle Assessment. 8 PP;
Encyclopedia of Ecology, Five-Volume Set, ISBN-13: 978-0-444-52033-3;
ISBN-10: 0-444-52033-3; Elsevier.
ISO 14040 (2006). Environmental Management – LCA – Principles and
Framework. International Standards Organization, Geneve, Switzerland.