RESUMEN
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have the ability to interfere with and alter functions of the hormone system, leading to adverse effects on reproduction, growth and development. Despite growing concerns over their now ubiquitous presence in the environment, endocrine-related human health effects remain largely outside of comparative human toxicity characterization frameworks as applied for example in life cycle impact assessments. In this paper, we propose a new methodological framework to consistently integrate endocrine-related health effects into comparative human toxicity characterization. We present two quantitative and operational approaches for extrapolating towards a common point of departure from both in vivo and dosimetry-adjusted in vitro endocrine-related effect data and deriving effect factors as well as corresponding characterization factors for endocrine-active/endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Following the proposed approaches, we calculated effect factors for 323 chemicals, reflecting their endocrine potency, and related characterization factors for 157 chemicals, expressing their relative endocrine-related human toxicity potential. Developed effect and characterization factors are ready for use in the context of chemical prioritization and substitution as well as life cycle impact assessment and other comparative assessment frameworks. Endocrine-related effect factors were found comparable to existing effect factors for cancer and non-cancer effects, indicating that (1) the chemicals' endocrine potency is not necessarily higher or lower than other effect potencies and (2) using dosimetry-adjusted effect data to derive effect factors does not consistently overestimate the effect of potential endocrine disruptors. Calculated characterization factors span over 8-11 orders of magnitude for different substances and emission compartments and are dominated by the range in endocrine potencies.
Asunto(s)
Disruptores Endocrinos , Disruptores Endocrinos/toxicidad , Sistema Endocrino , Humanos , ReproducciónRESUMEN
Over the last few decades, worldwide detection of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in aquatic environments and the associated toxicological effects on wildlife and human health have become a matter of public and scientific debate. While life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models are increasingly used to assess the potential eco- and human-toxicological effects of chemical emissions, few studies have looked into the issue of modeling pharmaceutical emissions specifically and their toxicity-related effects in an LCA context. This paper reviews the state of the art to inventory and characterize API emissions in LCA with the goal to identify relevant gaps and challenges. A search for 208 environmentally relevant APIs in 2 life cycle inventory (LCI) databases revealed a meager representation of this group of chemicals. Similarly, the LCIA model USEtox was found to include characterization factors (CFs) for less than 60 APIs. First approaches to model API emissions in LCA were identified on the basis of an examination of 40 LCA case studies in the pharmaceutical sector and in the field of wastewater treatment. Moreover, CFs for 79 additional APIs, expressing their ecotoxicity and/or human toxicity potential, were gathered from literature. An analysis of the variability of API-CFs in different LCIA models showed a variation of about 2-3 orders of magnitude. Based on the review results, 3 main gaps in the modeling and characterization of API emissions in an LCA context were identified: (1) incomplete modeling of API flows and API emissions along the life cycle of human pharmaceuticals, especially during their use and end-of-life phase, (2) limited API coverage in existing LCIA toxicity models, and (3) missing pharma-specific impact pathways (e.g., endocrine disruption and antibiotic resistance) in existing LCIA models. Recommendations to tackle these gaps are provided, and priority action steps are discussed. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:6-18. © 2018 SETAC.
Asunto(s)
Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Modelos Químicos , Preparaciones Farmacéuticas/análisis , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/análisis , Ecotoxicología , Medición de Riesgo , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/toxicidadRESUMEN
The needs of children and their vulnerability to diseases, violence and poverty are different from those of adults. The Sustainable Child Development Index (SCDI) was thus developed in previous work to evaluate the status of sustainable development for countries with a focus on children and triple-bottom-line thinking. This study proposes application options to put the SCDI into practice. The SCDI can be performed similarly to existing development indices, for comparing and tracing the performance of sustainable development on different geographic levels and between population groups. In addition, the SCDI can be integrated into existing social sustainability assessment approaches (e.g., Social Life Cycle Assessment and Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment) and databases (e.g., The Social Hotspots Database) to take children into account and enhance impact assessment of social sustainability assessment approaches. As an exemplification, this study demonstrates the application of the SCDI framework to support the development of social impact pathways. Due to the importance of tertiary education in reducing poverty, a preliminary social impact pathway addressing completion of tertiary education was established. By putting the SCDI into practice, the SCDI can support decision making in child as well as sustainable development policies.
Asunto(s)
Desarrollo Infantil , Salud Infantil , Cambio Social , Niño , Humanos , Desarrollo de Programa , Evaluación de Programas y Proyectos de SaludRESUMEN
In April 2013, the European Commission published the Product and Organisation Environmental Footprint (PEF/OEF) methodology--a life cycle-based multicriteria measure of the environmental performance of products, services, and organizations. With its approach of "comparability over flexibility," the PEF/OEF methodology aims at harmonizing existing methods, while decreasing the flexibility provided by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards regarding methodological choices. Currently, a 3-y pilot phase is running, aiming at testing the methodology and developing product category and organization sector rules (PEFCR/OEFSR). Although a harmonized method is in theory a good idea, the PEF/OEF methodology presents challenges, including a risk of confusion and limitations in applicability to practice. The paper discusses the main differences between the PEF and ISO methodologies and highlights challenges regarding PEF applicability, with a focus on impact assessment. Some methodological aspects of the PEF and PEFCR Guides are found to contradict the ISO 14044 (2006) and ISO 14025 (2006). Others, such as prohibition of inventory cutoffs, are impractical. The evaluation of the impact assessment methods proposed in the PEF/OEF Guide showed that the predefined methods for water consumption, land use, and abiotic resources are not adequate because of modeling artefacts, missing inventory data, or incomplete characterization factors. However, the methods for global warming and ozone depletion perform very well. The results of this study are relevant for the PEF (and OEF) pilot phase, which aims at testing the PEF (OEF) methodology (and potentially adapting it) as well as addressing challenges and coping with them.
Asunto(s)
Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Política Ambiental , Ambiente , Monitoreo del Ambiente/normas , Unión EuropeaRESUMEN
Solid recovered fuel (SRF) today refers to a waste-derived fuel meeting defined quality specifications, in terms of both origin (produced from non-hazardous waste) and levels of certain fuel properties. Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) nowadays is more used for unspecified waste after a basic processing to increase the calorific value and therefore this term usually refers to the segregated, high calorific fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW), commercial or industrial wastes. In comparison with conventional fuels, both types of secondary fuel show waste of inherently varying quality and an increased level of waste-specific contaminants.The transition from RDF to SRF in the emerging national and European market requires a quality assurance system with defined quality parameters and analytical methods to ensure reliable fuel characterization. However, due to the quality requirements for RDF and SRF, the current standardized analysis methods often do not meet these practical demands. Fast test methods, which minimize personnel, financial and time efforts and which are applicable for producers as well as users can be an important supporting tool for RDF- and SRF-characterization. Currently, a fast test system based on incineration and correlation analyses which enable the determination of relevant fuel parameters is under development. Fast test methods are not aimed at replacing current standardized test methods, but have to be considered as practical supporting tools for the characterization of RDF and SRF.