Human health damages due to ionising radiation in life cycle impact assessment

Frischknecht, Rolf; Braunschweig, Arthur; Hofstetter, Patrick; Suter, Peter M.

doi:10.1016/s0195-9255(99)00042-6

Cited by 141 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…As a first stage, currently existing life cycle impact assessment models for ionising radiation (Frischknecht and Braunschweig 2000;Garnier-Laplace et al 2009) were assessed to establish whether the potential impacts of NORM are already accounted for to a sufficient degree within the LCA framework. Cucurachi et al (2014) propose a generalised framework for the inclusion of emerging impacts in LCA.…”

Section: Justification Of Impact Assessment Model Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ionising radiation impact categories are currently available in commonly used LCA software (SimaPro (Pre Sustainability 2014), GaBi (Thinkstep 2014)) both for human health (Frischknecht and Braunschweig 2000) and ecosystems (Garnier-Laplace et al 2009). Both impact categories are recommended (at least as an interim choice) in the ILCD guidelines for assessing ionising radiation at a midpoint level (European Commission 2011).…”

Section: Justification Of Impact Assessment Model Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increase in fatal cases and non-fatal cases of cancer per 1 man/Sv excessive exposure (collective dose) is estimated to be 0.05 and 0.12, respectively, by Frischknecht and Braunschweig (2000), with UNSCEAR (2000) estimating an increase of fatal cancer cases of 0.08 for males and 0.11 for females (corresponding to 0.096 per average person assuming equal gender distribution). The latter provides higher risk of exposureinduced death, since it does not include any reduction factors for low dose rates, which are the case for natural radioactivity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One such example is application of fly ash in building materials as presented in Table 4. Considering a lifetime period of 75 years and three inhabitants on average per house, we convert the annual dose to damage using the dose to damage coefficient of Frischknecht and Braunschweig (2000) (Hierarchical/Egalitarian scenario; 1.51 disability adjusted life years (DALY)/man.Sv) and get 0.510 DALYs per house per lifetime. Comparing this obtained value to the total production impacts of the major building materials present in the reference dwelling used by Meijer et al (2005b) (Table 5), it is clear that damage from the ionising radiation during the use phase has the potential to be the dominant human health impact in the life cycle of construction materials and is an issue worthy of consideration.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A framework for including enhanced exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in LCA

Joyce

Goronovski

Tkaczyk

et al. 2016

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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Purpose Despite advances in the development of impact categories for ionising radiation, the focus on artificial radionuclides produced in the nuclear fuel cycle means that the potential impacts resulting from increased exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are still only covered to a limited degree in life cycle assessment (LCA). Here, we present a potential framework for the inclusion of the exposure routes and impact pathways particular to NORM in LCA. Methods We assess the potential magnitude of enhanced NORM exposure, particularly in light of the potential use of NORM residues in building materials, and set out the potential exposure routes that may exist. We then assess the current state of the art, in terms of available fate, exposure and damage models, both within and outside of the LCA sphere. Finally, these exposure routes and modelling techniques are combined in order to lay out a potential framework for NORM assessment in LCA, both in terms of impact on humans and ecosystems. Results and discussion Increased exposure to NORM radionuclides can result either from their release to the environment or their proximity to humans as they reside in stockpiles, landfills or products. The exposure route via products is considered to be increasingly significant in light of current attempts to incorporate technologically enhanced NORMs (TENORM) including bauxite residue into building materials, by groups such as the ETN-MSCA REDMUD project. Impact assessment models for NORM exposure are therefore required to avoid potential burden shifting in the assessment of such TENORM products. Models describing the fate of environmental releases, the exhalation of radon from building products and the shielding effects on landfills/stockpiles are required to assess potential exposure. Subsequently, models relating exposure to radiation sources and the effective internal and external dose received by receptors are required. Finally, an assessment of the damage caused to the receptors is desirable. Conclusions A sufficient suite of currently existing and internationally recognised models exist that can, with varying degrees of modification, form the building blocks of a comprehensive NORM characterisation method for LCA. The challenge ahead lies in consolidating these models, from disparate fields, into a coherent and generally applicable method for the assessment of enhanced NORM exposure in LCA.

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Section: Justification Of Impact Assessment Model Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Justification Of Impact Assessment Model Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A framework for including enhanced exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in LCA

Joyce

Goronovski

Tkaczyk

et al. 2016

Int J Life Cycle Assess

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“…[8]. Attempts have been made to assess the environmental impact of nuclear power not only based on emissions, but also considering ionizing radiation from nuclear waste [9,10]. However, even if a serious nuclear accident can cause considerable damage to humans and other living organisms for a very long time period, the impact on the overall assessment is minor given the fortunately limited probabilities (whether calculated or based on radiation damage statistics) for such accidents [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear Power and Resource Efficiency—A Proposal for a Revised Primary Energy Factor

Eriksson

2017

Sustainability

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Measuring resource efficiency can be achieved using different methods, of which primary energy demand is commonly used. The primary energy factor (PEF) is a figure describing how much energy from primary resources is being used per unit of energy delivered. The PEF for nuclear power is typically 3, which refers to thermal energy released from fission in relation to electricity generated. Fuel losses are not accounted for. However; nuclear waste represents an energy loss, as current plans for nuclear waste management mostly include final disposal. Based on a literature review and mathematical calculations of the power-to-fuel ratio for nuclear power, PEF values for the open nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) option of nuclear power and different power mixes are calculated. These calculations indicate that a more correct PEF for nuclear power would be 60 (range 32-88); for electricity in Sweden (41% nuclear power) PEF would change from 1.8 to 25.5, and the average PEF for electricity in the European Union (EU) would change from 2.5 to 18. The results illustrate the poor resource efficiency of nuclear power, which paves the way for the fourth generation of nuclear power and illustrates the policy implication of using PEFs which are inconsistent with current waste management plans.

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Life‐cycle analysis of fuel cell system components

Pehnt

2010

Handbook of Fuel Cells

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Human health damages due to ionising radiation in life cycle impact assessment

Cited by 141 publications

References 5 publications

A framework for including enhanced exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in LCA

A framework for including enhanced exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in LCA

Nuclear Power and Resource Efficiency—A Proposal for a Revised Primary Energy Factor

Life‐cycle analysis of fuel cell system components

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