Traffic noise in LCA

Background, aim, and scope  

An inclusion of traffic noise effects could change considerably the overall results of many life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. However, at present, noise effects are usually not considered in LCA studies, mainly because the existing methods for their inclusion do not fulfill the requirement profile. Two methods proposed so far seem suitable for inclusion in generic life cycle inventory (LCI) databases, and a third allows for inter-modal comparison. The aim of this investigation is an in-depth analysis of the existing methods and the proposition of a framework for modeling road transport noise emissions in LCI in accordance to the requirement profile postulated in part 1.     

Methodological proposals for improved assessments of the impact of traffic noise upon human health

Background, aim and scope  

Several methodological shortcomings still hinder the inclusion of transport noise as an established impact category within life cycle assessment (LCA). Earlier attempts to quantify the health damages caused by traffic noise yielded valuable results from an academic point of view, but these were of limited use in the context of everyday LCA practice. An enhanced understanding of traffic noise emission models coupled with a straightforward choice of indicators could lead to faster, more accurate assessments of health impairment due to traffic noise whose results would fittingly serve the purposes of policy makers and the information needs of the general public alike. This article aims to propose the guidelines for such assessments.     

A method to include in lca road traffic noise and its health effects

Background, Aims and Scope  Transport noise represents an environmental problem that is perceived by humans more directly than the usual chemical emissions or resource uses. In spite of this, traditional LCA applications still exclude noise — probably due to the unavailability of an appropriate assessment method. In order to fill the gap, this article presents a study proposing a new computational procedure for the determination of health impairment resulting from noise emissions of road vehicles. Main Features  The magnitude of health impairment due to noise is determined separately for each vehicle class (cars, trucks,..) and is calculated per vehicle-kilometre driven during the day or at nighttime on the Swiss road network. This health impairment is expressed in cases of sleep disturbance or communication disturbance, and furthermore aggregated in DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Years) units representing the number, duration and severity of the health cases. The method is modelling the full cause-effect chain from the noise emissions of a single vehicle up to the health damage. As in some other modern concepts of environmental damage assessment, the analysis is subdivided into the four modules of fate analysis, exposure analysis, effect analysis and damage analysis. The fate analysis yielding the noise level increment due to an additional road transport over a given distance is conducted for transports with known or with unknown routing, the latter case being more important in LCA practice. The current number of persons subject to specific background levels of noise is determined on the basis of the road traffic noise model, LUK, developed by the Swiss canton of Zurich. The number of additional cases of health impairment due to incremental noise is calculated with data out of the Swiss Noise Study 90. An assessment of the severity of sleep disturbance and communication disturbance, in comparison to other types of health impairment, was performed by a panel consisting of physicians experienced in the field of severity weighting of disabilities. Results and Discussion  The quantities of health cases and of DALY units are given per 1′000 truck or car kilometres on Swiss roads, and the range of the confidence interval is estimated. A plausibility check is made by a quantitative comparison of the results with health damage due to traffic accidents in Switzerland, and with health damage due to traffic noise in the Netherlands. Conclusions and Oudook  The method is ready for use in LCA practice. However, the temporary solution for transports outside of Switzerland should be replaced by feeding country specific data into the fate and exposure model. Further, a comparable assessment for rail transport would facilitate decisions on road or rail transport. A decisive element of transport noise assessment is the availability of robust links between noise level and medical conditions. Whilst the number of the corresponding studies is sufficiendy large, a design for better pooling of study results is desirable.     

How does co-product handling affect the carbon footprint of milk? Case study of milk production in New Zealand and Sweden

Purpose  

This paper investigates different methodologies of handling co-products in life cycle assessment (LCA) or carbon footprint (CF) studies. Co-product handling can have a significant effect on final LCA/CF results, and although there are guidelines on the preferred order for different methods for handling co-products, no agreed understanding on applicable methods is available. In the present study, the greenhouse gases (GHG) associated with the production of 1 kg of energy-corrected milk (ECM) at farm gate is investigated considering co-product handling.     

Including Human Health Damages due to Road Traffic in Life Cycle Assessment of Dwellings

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.013

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Goal, Scope and background. Methodologies based on life cycle assessment have been developed to calculate the environmental impact of dwellings. Human health damages due to exposure of occupants to substances and noise emitted by road traffic are not included in these methodologies. In this study, a methodology has been developed to calculate damages to human health of occupants caused by substances and noise emitted by neighbourhood car traffic. The goal of this study is to assess the influence of the location of the dwelling on the health of the occupants, compared to the damage to human health associated with the rest of the life cycle of that dwelling.

Methods

Fate, exposure and human health effects were addressed in the calculation procedure. The methodology takes into account road traffic noise and four hazardous substances emitted by cars. Chemical fate factors were calculated with an outdoor exposure model for traffic pollutants, air entrance rates and indoor intake fractions. Fate factors for noise were based on noise levels generated by traffic. Effect factors for substances were based on unit risk factors and extrapolated dose-effect relationships. Effect factors for noise were based on linear relationships between noise level changes and health effects, while taking into account threshold values for noise levels for negative impacts. Damage factors were calculated on the basis of disability adjusted life years (DALYs). Human health damage scores for changes in traffic situations have been calculated for differences in three traffic scenarios in residential areas and for the Dutch reference dwellings.

Results and Discussion

For the Dutch reference dwelling and the traffic situations considered and taking into account noise, particulate matter (PM10), sulphur dioxide, benzene and benzo[ a]pyrene, communication disturbances and sleep disturbances due to noise and health effects of PM10 appear to be dominant in the total damage to human health of occupants caused by neighbourhood car traffic. A sensitivity analysis has shown that a reduction of the car and truck density and of the distance of the façade of the dwellings to the road axis has the largest positive effect on the human health of the occupants, and that a decrease of speed by traffic impediments has only a marginal or even a negative effect. Differences in overall indoor health damage due to different traffic scenarios may be 1.5 to 2 times

Conclusion

Within the limitations of this study, damages to human health of occupants due to indoor exposure to road traffic noise and pollutants appear to be in the same order of magnitude when compared with damages associated with the life cycle of dwellings. This emphasizes the importance to include the location of dwellings in the life cycle assessment of the dwelling.

     

Assessing potential desertification environmental impact in life cycle assessment

Background, aim and scope  

Life cycle assessment (LCA) enables the objective assessment of global environmental burdens associated with the life cycle of a product or a production system. One of the main weaknesses of LCA is that, as yet, there is no scientific agreement on the assessment methods for land-use related impacts, which results in either the exclusion or the lack of assessment of local environmental impacts related to land use. The inclusion of the desertification impact in LCA studies of any human activity can be important in high-desertification risk regions.     

Towards a general framework for including noise impacts in LCA

Purpose  

Several damages have been associated with the exposure of human beings to noise. These include auditory effects, i.e., hearing impairment, but also non-auditory physiological ones such as hypertension and ischemic heart disease, or psychological ones such as annoyance, depression, sleep disturbance, limited performance of cognitive tasks or inadequate cognitive development. Noise can also interfere with intended activities, both in daytime and nighttime. ISO 14'040 also indicated the necessity of introducing noise, together with other less developed impact categories, in a complete LCA study, possibly changing the results of many LCA studies already available. The attempts available in the literature focused on the integration of transportation noise in LCA. Although being considered the most frequent source of intrusive impact, transportation noise is not the only type of noise that can have a malign impact on public health. Several other sources of noise such as industrial or occupational need to be taken into account to have a complete consideration of noise into LCA. Major life cycle inventories (LCI) typically do not contain data on noise emissions yet and characterisation factors are not yet clearly defined. The aim of the present paper is to briefly review what is already available in the field and propose a new framework for the consideration of human health impacts of any type of noise that could be of interest in the LCA practice, providing indications for the introduction of noise in LCI and analysing what data is already available and, in the form of a research agenda, what other resources would be needed to reach a complete coverage of the problem.     

Analysis of the different techniques to include noise damage in life cycle assessment. A case study for car tires

Purpose

Despite that different methods for the inclusion of transport noise in life cycle assessment (LCA) have been proposed, none of them has become consensual. Leveraging a case study on car tires, this paper aims at comparing two among these characterization approaches to identify strengths and weaknesses and to investigate the relative contribution of noise to human health (in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)) as compared to other environmental stressors.

Methods

The case study analyzed two tires showing different acoustical properties. The two methods applied are the one developed by Müller-Wenk and further improved by other authors and the recent one proposed by Cucurachi. These two methods were adapted to the case study, and a full LCA study of the car tires was carried out. Both uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were performed.

Results and discussion

Both methods highlight the potential high contribution of noise damage to the DALYs generated by car tires, even considering parameters’ uncertainties. This study shows therefore the necessity to integrate noise impact in LCA in a broader way. Both methods present coherent results regarding the environmental performance differences between the two products. However, the absolute DALY scores differ by eight orders of magnitude, probably because Cucurachi’s methods overestimate the damages. The analysis of modeling choices and parameter uncertainties could not explain this difference.

Conclusions

Noise impact on human health has to be included in LCA, and additional efforts should focus on the characterization modeling since there is not yet a consensual method for a systematic integration. The case study shows that the improvement of tire design can efficiently reduce noise impact on human health. Both methods have advantages and inconveniences. We think that it is possible to elaborate a method combining the strengths of both approaches. An incremental approach used on accurate localized and temporalized data processed with noise propagation software could provide characterization factors for a set of archetypes. This should be a good compromise for a method allowing systematic integration of noise impact in LCA.

     

Life cycle assessment of the construction of an unpaved road in an undisturbed tropical rainforest area in the vicinity of Manu National Park,Peru

Purpose

The main goal of this study is to provide a thorough environmental sustainability analysis of the construction, traffic, and maintenance of a 45.6-km section of the ‘Manu Road’, an unpaved tropical road that is currently being built in the vicinity of Manu National Park, in the region of Madre de Dios, Peru.

Methods

Life cycle assessment (LCA) using a set of 18 different impact categories was selected to conduct the environmental analysis. Modelling of machinery and vehicle emissions, as well as dust emissions, was performed to account for site-specific characteristics in terms of road construction and traffic. Similarly, direct land use changes were modelled with a particular emphasis on the decay of deforested biomass during construction. A set of different scenarios for the production system were considered to account for uncertainty regarding vehicle transit, amount of deforested biomass, and emission standards.

Results and discussion

Construction, maintenance, and traffic of the Manu Road varied considerably depending on methodological assumptions. Deforestation due to direct land use changes appears to be the main environmental hotspot in terms of climate change, whereas in the remaining impact categories, traffic was the main carrier of environmental burdens.

Conclusions

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first LCA that focuses on the construction, maintenance, and traffic in a tropical rainforest environment. Despite the low requirements in terms of materials and technology to build this road, its derived environmental impacts are relevant in terms of climate change and particulate matter formation due to deforestation and dust emissions, respectively. Unpaved roads represent a relevant proportion of the entire road network worldwide, especially in developing tropical countries, playing a crucial role in the transportation of raw materials. Furthermore, road infrastructure is expected to expand explosively in the decades to come. Therefore, we suggest that LCA studies can and should improve the planning of road infrastructure in terms of life cycle inventories.

     

Impacts of flexible pavement design and management decisions on life cycle energy consumption and carbon footprint

Purpose

The study aims to develop a methodological framework to estimate life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to pavement design and management decisions. Another objective is to apply the framework to the design and management of flexible highway pavement in Hong Kong. Traditionally, pavement design and management decisions are solely based on economic considerations. This study quantifies the relationships between such decisions and the environmental impacts, thereby helping highway agencies understand the environmental implications of their decisions and make more balanced decisions to improve highway sustainability.

Methods

(1) A methodological framework is developed by integrating the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (ME-PDG) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. (2) The calculation processes for the detailed components in the framework are proposed by synthesizing existing models, data, and tools. (3) In applying the framework to pavement design and management in Hong Kong, a large number of simulations are conducted to generate pavement performance data at different combinations of pavement thickness, roughness trigger value, and traffic levels. (4) GHG emissions and energy consumption are calculated for each simulation scenario, and the results are used to build statistical regression models. (5) The simulation and calculation results are also analyzed to gain additional insights on the environmental impacts of pavement design and management decisions.

Results and conclusions

(1) The developed framework that integrates ME-PDG and LCA methods is useful to assess pavement-related life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions. (2) The developed regression models can well capture the trends of life cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions at different traffic levels, using asphalt concrete (AC) layer thickness and roughness trigger value as independent variables. (3) Material production, road use, and congestion due to road closure dominate pavement-related life cycle energy use and GHG emissions. (4) Optimum pavement thickness and international roughness index (IRI) trigger values exist, and they vary with traffic levels.

     

Parameterised inventories for life cycle assessment

Background and Objective  

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a highly data intensive undertaking, where collecting the life cycle inventory (LCI) data is the most labour intensive part. The aim of this paper is to show a method for representing the LCI in a simplified manner which not only allows an estimative, quantitative LCA, but also the application of advanced analysis methods to LCA.     

Sensitivity analysis of methodological choices in road pavement LCA

Purpose

There are methodological questions concerning life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint evaluation of road pavements, including allocation among co-products or at end-of-life (EOL) recycling. While the development and adoption of a standard methodology for road pavement LCA would assist in transparency and decision making, the impact of the chosen method on the results has not yet been fully explored.

Methods

This paper examines the methodological choices made in UK PAS 2050 and asphalt Pavement Embodied Carbon Tool (asPECT), and reviews the allocation methods available to conduct road pavement LCA. A case study of a UK inter-urban road construction (cradle-to-laid) is presented to indicate the impact of allocation amongst co-products (bitumen and blast furnace slag); a typical UK asphalt production (cradle-to-gate) is modelled to show the influence of allocation at EOL recycling.

Results and discussion

Allocation based on mass is found to consistently lead to the highest figures in all impact categories, believed to be typical for construction materials. Changing from industry chosen allocation methods (Eurobitume, asPECT) to 100 % mass or economic allocation leads to changes in results, which vary across impact categories. This study illustrates how the allocation methods for EOL recycling affect the inventory of a unit process (asphalt production).

Conclusions and recommendations

Sensitivity analysis helps to understand the impact of chosen allocation method and boundary setting on LCA results. This initial work suggests that economic allocation to co-products used as secondary pavement materials may be more appropriate than mass allocation. Allocation at EOL recycling by a substitution method may remain most appropriate, even where the balance of credits between producers and users may be hampered by an inability to confidently predict future recycling rates and methods. In developing sector-specific guidelines, further sensitivity checks are recommended, such as for alternative materials and traffic management during maintenance.     

Environmental assessment and improvement alternatives of a ventilated wooden wall from LCA and DfE perspective

Purpose  

The main goal of this paper was to analyse the environmental profile of a structural component of a wooden house: a ventilated wooden wall, by combining two environmental methodologies: one quantitative, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and another qualitative, the design for the environment (DfE).     

Residential Exposure to Traffic Noise and Health-Related Quality of Life—A Population-Based Study

Background

Few studies have investigated the association between objectively measured traffic noise and health-related quality of life. However, as traffic noise has been associated with both cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and health-issues including sleeping problems, annoyance, and stress, it seems plausible that traffic noise is associated with health-related quality of life.

Methods

Between 1999 and 2002, a cohort of 38,964 Danes filled in the short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. Residential exposure to road traffic and railway noise was calculated for all historical addresses for 10 years preceding the SF-36, using the Nordic prediction method. Associations between noise exposure and SF-36 summary scales and the eight sub-scales were calculated using general linear models, adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle.

Results

Models adjusted for age, sex and socioeconomic factors showed that a 10 dB higher road traffic noise 1 year preceding SF-36 assessment was associated with a 0.14 lower mental component summary (MCS) score (95% confidence interval (CI) -0.26, -0.01). However, further adjustment for lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol, and waist circumference) attenuated the association: (-0.08 (95% CI: -0.20, 0.04)). Exposure to more than 55 dB of railway noise in the same time period was borderline significantly associated with lower MCS. The physical component summary was not associated with traffic noise.

Conclusion

The present study suggests a weak association between traffic noise exposure and the mental health component score of SF-36, which may operate through lifestyle. The magnitude of effect was, however, not clinically relevant.     

Categorizing water for LCA inventory

Purpose  

As impact assessment methods for water use in LCA evolve, so must inventory methods. Water categories that consider water quality must be defined within life cycle inventory. The method presented here aims to establish water categories by source, quality parameter and user.     

Life cycle assessments of consumer electronics — are they consistent?

Background, aim, and scope  

During the last decades, the electronics industry has undergone tremendous changes due to intense research leading to advanced technology development. Multiple life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have been performed on the environmental implications of consumer electronics. The aim of this review is to assess the consistency between different LCA studies for desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile phones and televisions (TVs).     

LCA for assessing environmental benefit of eco-design strategies and forest wood short supply chain: a furniture case study

Purpose

Eco-innovation strategies are increasingly adopted to ensure the minimization of environmental impacts. Nonetheless, only a comprehensive integrated assessment along the life cycle stages of a product may ensure a robust analysis of the benefit of the innovation. The object of the present study is the environmental assessment of furniture prototypes produced using certified wood and integrating eco-design criteria in their conception. The aim of the study was twofold: firstly, to evaluate the environmental profile of the furniture, highlighting possible hot spots of impacts, and secondly, to evaluate the capability of life cycle assessment (LCA) to identify the environmental benefit associated to the adoption of eco-innovation strategies, such as the following: ensuring short supply chain from raw material to production; using wood coming from certified forests (according to PEFC scheme); and the implementation of eco-design principles, also associated with green public procurement requirements.

Methods

LCA has been applied in a case study related to the wood furniture sector in the alpine region of Northern Italy. Every activity was modeled using primary data, related to the inputs and outputs of the processes, provided directly by the designers and by woodworking firms. Input data related to forestry activities and wood extraction were collected and processed in a previous phase of the study. The life cycle of a prototype school desk from the cradle-to-gate perspective was analyzed. A woodworking plant was examined in detail, dividing the whole manufacturing process into four phases: panels production, woodworking, painting and steel parts processing. The system boundaries included all the activities which take place inside the plant as well as energy inputs, transports and ancillary products used.

Results and discussion

The results highlighted that the working phases showing the greatest environmental burdens were the production of solid wood panels and the processing of iron parts. No concerns about chemicals, glues and paints were raised, due to the eco-design principles implemented in the production of the furniture. The choice of a short supply chain allowed for drastic reductions in the impacts associated to long-distance transports. Three sensitivity analyses were carried out to test the robustness of results concerning the following: (1) glue options, (2) drying phase and VOC emissions, and (3) transport options.

Conclusions

This study proves to which extent eco-design criteria implemented in practice improve the environmental performance of products. All positive effects due to decisions taken in school desk design and conception were supported by evidence.     

Environmental assessment of black locust (<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Robinia pseudoacacia</Emphasis> L.)-based ethanol as potential transport fuel

Purpose  

Lignocellulosic ethanol has received special research interest, driven by concerns over high fuel prices, security of energy supplies, global climate change as well as the search of opportunities for rural economic development. A well-to-wheel analysis was conducted for ethanol obtained from black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) by means of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. This study assesses the environmental profile of using ethanol in mixtures E10 and E85 as transport fuel in comparison with conventional gasoline (CG). In addition, the best model of black locust cultivation was analysed under an environmental point of view.     

Impact of lifetime on US residential building LCA results

Purpose  

Many life cycle assessment (LCA) studies do not adequately address the actual lifetime of buildings and building products, but rather assume a typical value. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of lifetime on residential building LCA results. Including accurate lifetime data into LCA allows a better understanding of a product’s environmental impact that would ultimately enhance the accuracy of LCA results.     

Characterisation framework development for the SIMPASS (Singapore IMPact ASSessment) methodology

Purpose  

Life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners in Singapore currently rely on foreign life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodologies when conducting studies, despite the fact that foreign methodologies may not be relevant, adaptable and sensitive to Singapore's circumstances. As a result, work has been undertaken to develop the Singapore IMPact ASSessment (SIMPASS) methodology by adapting and modifying existing LCIA methodologies to suit the Singaporean context. It is envisioned that the use of SIMPASS will improve the accuracy of LCA studies conducted for industries operating in Singapore.