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(146) Determination of characterisation factors for ionising substances in Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Ciffroy, Philippe1, Lepicard, S.2, Mollat du Jourdin, C.2, Le Boulch, D.1, 1 2 ABSTRACT- In the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as in other industrial activities (phosphate rock extraction, oil and gas combustion), radionuclides may be released in the atmosphere or in water bodies. Although transfers of radionuclides through the environment and human health effects are largely studied, radioactive emissions have rarely been considered in Life Cycle Assessments. However, electricity, and in particular those produced by nuclear power plants, has to be taken into account in Life Cycle Assessments of many industrial products. Consequently, it is useful to introduce a new impact category representing health effects of radioactive releases for Life Cycle Assessments applications. The aim of the present work was to define consistent indicators that can be included in Life Cycle Assessments for representing health effects of ionising substances. The so-called CLM-method, based on the choice of a reference substance and on determination of Characterisation Factors, has been adapted for radioactive isotopes. Minimum site-dependency was considered by distinguishing three types of releases, respectively into the atmosphere, the sea and fresh water bodies. For each of the three environmental receptors, impact pathways were modelled and several potential indicators were selected and tested for the determination of Characterisation Factors: radionuclides concentrations in various consumable products, individual dose to critical groups, collective dose, health risks (number of cancers). Each potential indicator was evaluated to estimate how far it can be taken as a reference to reflect radiological impacts for many various situations, with sufficient resistance to variations of some calculation parameters (space and time scales, site characteristics, etc.). Key words: LCA, radioactivity, characterisation factors |
