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(W/MC255) Site-dependent LCIA indicators for human health effects of airborne emissions in Catalonia/ Spain. Sonnemann, Guido1, Harthan, Ralph2, Nigge, Karl-Michael3, Schuhmacher, Marta1, Castells, Francesc1, 1 2 3 ABSTRACT- One of the major problems to be solved in LCIA is the poor accordance between the potential impact results (midpoints) and the expectation of actual impacts (endpoints). In the case of pollutant emissions, the main reason for this discordance is the negligence on the one hand of the spatial distribution of the receptor density and on the other hand of the emission point and the corresponding dispersion conditions. It is proposed to consider the spatial variation of these factors within LCIA by way of generic spatial classes. For each class, average incremental exposures of the receptors per mass of pollutant have to be calculated. An operational method within the proposed general framework exists for the case of population exposures due to airborne emissions of primary pollutants with linear exposure-response functions. It was applied, in some parts modified, to the Mediterranean region Catalonia/ Spain. Districts within that region were grouped into generic spatial classes according to annual mean wind speed and population density. Short-range population exposures for each class were calculated using a Gaussian dispersion model. Long-range population exposures were computed using the Windrose Trajectory Model within the EcoSense software. The combination of short-range and long-range results leads to the overall population exposures for each pollutant, class and emission height. The population exposures are transformed into damage estimates through the application of exposure-response functions and further aggregated by the means of different weighting schemes. The obtained endpoint indicators were applied within a case study on waste treatment, indicating that the relevance of transport processes would have been underestimated using midpoint indicators. Key words: Life Cycle Impact Assessment, Life Cycle Management, Environmental Risk Assessment |
