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(150) New sector assessment method for carrying out working environmental LCA based on the EDIP methodology. Schmidt, Anders1, Rasmussen, Pia1, 1 ABSTRACT- In connection with an LCA consensus and methodology project in Denmark, a new method for carrying out working environmental LCA has been developed, including a database. The new method is developed to follow the EDIP methodology. The methodology is based on two types of Danish statistical information regarding economic sectors, i.e. information on the amounts being produced (in weight units), and information on the number of reported work-related diseases and damages in the same sectors. By combining the statistics it is possible to establish a figure for working environmental impacts per produced unit that can be used together with information on the impacts in the external environment. The result of the impact assessment can, in line with the ordinary LCA in EDIP, be normalised and expressed in personal equivalents. The established database covers about 80 economic sectors that are divided into four groups, i.e. raw material production, production of intermediates and components, production of final products, and transportation. The new method does, in contrast to the original EDIP-methodology, not include an assessment of single processes in the companies, but operates on the sector level. The main advantage is that it becomes much easier to collect and handle the necessary information for a working environmental LCA. Hence, working environmental LCA can be performed with a reasonable effort. Another advantage is that it to some extent is possible to establish the same type of information for other countries, thereby facilitating the development of an even more extensive database. Finally, the procedure used to derive the produced amounts in a given sector is recommended for other purposes in LCA or input-output analysis. Key words: Life cycle assessment, Working environment, New method, EDIP methodology |
