|
Items in cart [4] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 9
1
Introduction
Humans have processed and used materials since the dawn of civi-
lization. For most of this time, small populations and low levels of
technology meant that rates of materials extraction, use, and dis-
posal were low. The situation changed significantly as the Industrial Revo-
lution began. In the late nineteenth century and in the latter half of the
twentieth century, the amount of material used in economic activity ex-
ploded (See Plate I).
Concerns over expanded rates of material use and the long-term avail-
ability of material resources were the basis for the report of the Paley Com-
mission (President's Materials Policy Commission, 1952), which docu-
mented the importance of systematic tracking of material flows.
Government agencies responded by (or had already been active in) moni-
toring the rates of use of minerals, forest products, and fuels. These activi-
ties continue and have been gradually expanded to include additional
material flows, such as environmental emissions. These are all compo-
nents of a comprehensive approach to sustainable development as dis-
cussed further in Chapter 3.
Efforts at tracking sources and flows of materials have allowed public
and private sector decision makers to answer critical questions for de-
cades. Where were the metals needed to supply the growth of American
manufacturing? Where were the construction materials needed for the
growth of American cities, housing, and highways? Where were the en-
ergy resources to keep transportation moving, keep the lights on and the
machinery turning, and keep the heat on in the winter and the air condi-
tioning in the summer? Where were the alternate sources of supply or
9
OCR for page 10
0
MATERIALS COUNT
substitutes for strategic materials necessary to support American indus-
try and national security? What were the environmental consequences of
the material and energy flows?
Answering these questions will continue to be important for national
security, economic growth, and environmental decision making. For ex-
ample, for national security purposes it is important to recognize that the
United States currently imports more than half its use of dozens of com-
modities (USGS, 2002a) (Figure 1.1~. Many of these materials are strategic
for the economic health and security of the nation, and in many cases, the
primary sources of the materials are in regions of political instability. The
most obvious example of this material dependence is oil. In October 2002,
63 percent of the petroleum used in the United States (9.5 million barrels
per day) was imported (EIA, 2002a). However, other important though
less obvious examples abound. For example, fluorspar is the primary raw
material for hydrofluoric acid, which is used directly or indirectly in the
manufacture of aluminum, gasoline, insulating foams, refrigerants, steel,
and uranium (USGS, 2003a). The United States imports all of its fluorspar,
and some of the imports come from regions that have volatile trade rela-
tionships with the United States. Figure 1.1 shows that these situations
are relatively common.
The need to collect material flows information to support national
security decisions may be self-evident, but other uses of material flows
information have been unexpected. One important function of material
flows accounts is to help firms and the economy innovate efficiently. In
particular, such data can guide the development of technologies that are
possible at actual production levels. For example, in the early 1990s, the
electronics industry was contemplating a switch from tin-lead solder, the
universal standard, to solder compositions that avoided the use of lead,
an environmental pollutant (Sidebar 1.1~. In this case, analysis of materi-
als flows prevented an inappropriate technology with high cost and a
problematic future from moving forward. Improved alternatives using
more common metals have now begun to appear in the electronics
market.
Analyses of material flows data have also led to surprising insights
into sources of environmental pollutants. When a team assembled by the
New York Academy of Sciences used material flows data to identify the
sources of mercury in New York Harbor, the data revealed that releases
from dental facilities, not heavy industry, were the largest wastewater
contributor (de Cerreno et al., 2002~.
An assessment of material flows was a critical element of the cement
industry's strategic vision, developed through the World Business Coun-
cil for Sustainable Development (World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, 2002~. These flows included not just the raw materials of
OCR for page 11
INTRODUCTION
Commoditv Percent
ARSENIC (trioxide)
ASBESTOS
BAUXITE and ALUMINA
COLUMBIUM (NIOBIUM)
FLUORSPAR
GRAPHITE (natural)
MANGANESE
MICA, sheet (natural)
QUARTZ CRYSTAL (industrial)
STRONTIUM
THALLIUM
THORIUM
VANADIUM
YTTRIUM
GEMSTONES
BISMUTH
INDIUM
TIN
BARITE
PALLAD I U M
ANTI MONY
DIAMOND (natural)
POTASH
STONE (dimension)
TANTALU M
CHROMIUM
COBALT
IODINE
TITANIUM MINERAL CONCENTRATES
RHENIUM
RARE EARTHS
PLATINUM
ZINC
TUNGSTEN
TITANIUM (sponge)
N I CKE L
PEAT
MAGNESIUM METAL
SILVER
SILICON
BERYLLIUM
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
ALUMINUM
PUMICE
DIAMOND (dust, grit, and powder)
COPPER
NITROGEN Fixed), AMMONIA
VERMICULITE
GYPSUM
CEM ENT
GARNET (industrial)
LEAD
MICA, scrap and flake (natural)
PERLITE
SA LT
IRON and STEEL
IRON ORE
SULFUR
IRON and STEEL SLAG
BROMINE
CADMIUM
PHOSPHATE ROCK
STONE (crushed)
TALC
FIGURE 1.12001 U.S. net
SOURCE: USGS, 2002a.
11
Maior Import Sources (1997-2000)'
China, Chile, Mexico
Canada
Australia, Guinea, Jamaica, Brazil
Brazil, Canada, Germany, Russia
China, South Africa, Mexico
China, Mexico, Canada, Brazil
South Africa, Gabon, Australia, Mexico
India, Belgium, Germany, China
Brazil, Germany, Madagascar
Mexico, Germany
Belgium, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France
France, Canada, Japan, Singapore
Canada, South Africa, China, Austria
China, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany
Israel, India, Belgium
Belgium, Mexico, United Kingdom, China
Canada, China, Russia, France
China, Peru, Indonesia, Brazil, Bolivia
China, India, Canada, Mexico
Russia, South Africa, Belgium, United Kingdom
China, Mexico, South Africa, Belgium, Bolivia
United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium
Canada, Russia, Belarus
Italy, Brazil, Canada, India
Australia, China, Thailand, Japan
South Africa, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Zimbabwe
Finland, Norway, Canada, Russia
Chile, Japan, Russia
South Africa, Australia, Canada, Ukraine
Chile, Kazakhstan, Germany, Russia
China, France, Japan, United Kingdom
South Africa, United Kingdom, Germany, Russia
Canada, Mexico, Peru
China, Russia, Germany, Portugal
Russia, Japan, Kazakhstan
Canada, Norway, Russia, Australia
Canada
Canada, China, Russia, Israel
Mexico, Canada, Peru, United Kingdom
Norway, South Africa, Russia, Canada
Russia, Canada, Germany, Kazakhstan
China, Canada, Australia, Austria
Canada, Russia, Venezuela, Mexico
Greece, Italy, Turkey
Ireland, China, Russia
Canada, Chile, Peru, Mexico
Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, Mexico
South Africa, China
Canada, Mexico, Spain
Canada, Thailand, China, Venezuela, Greece
Australia, India, China
Canada, Mexico, Australia, Peru
Canada, India, Finland, China
G reece
Canada, Chile, Mexico, The Bahamas
European Union, Canada, Japan, Mexico
Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Australia
Canada, Mexico, Venezuela
Canada, Italy, Brazil, France
Israel, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands
Canada, Australia, Belgium, Germany
Morocco
Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas
China, Canada, France, Japan
fin descending order of import share
import reliance for selected nonfuel mineral materials.
OCR for page 12
2
MATERIALS COUNT
cement, but also the myriad of materials that are used as supplementary
fuels and feed supplements such as tires, waste plastics, electric arc fur-
nace dust, and liquid hydrocarbon wastes. The locations and availabilities
of these materials will drive future economics in the cement industry as
much as the location and availability of limestone, clay, and sand.
As illustrated by the previous examples, material flows information
can be significant in identifying potential environmental concerns, allow-
ing preventive action. For example, material flows data reveal that over
the past 30 years, the widespread use of pressure-treated lumber has cre-
ated large stocks of arsenic in building materials that are now nearing the
end of their useful life (Sidebar 1.2~. Knowledge of the use patterns and
spatial distribution of this stock of arsenic, through material flows data,
OCR for page 13
INTRODUCTION
13
could allow for the development of effective strategies for preventing the
widespread release of arsenic into the environment.
These limited examples, which are expanded on in Chapter 4, show
that material flows data inform national security, industrial, and public
policy decisions. Yet decision makers now face a new generation of ques-
tions that require integration of economic, environmental, material flows,
and energy flows information. On what fuel infrastructure should a next-
generation transportation system rely? What are the economic, material
flows, energy flows, and environmental implications of nanotechnologies
and biotechnologies? What should be the disposition of electronic prod-
ucts at the end of their useful life? How can global environmental loads of
mercury and nutrients be most cost-effectively reduced? Answering these
questions will require material and energy flows data and economic in-
formation that are much more complete and integrated than current data.
As examples in this chapter have illustrated, decision makers without ac-
cess to more systematically integrated material flows information could
have a greater potential for making costly, ineffective decisions.
OCR for page 14
4
MATERIALS COUNT
The flows of mercury provide a rich example of the need for more
integrated material flows information. A variety of regulatory strategies
are being developed for reducing mercury releases into the environment,
including reducing the use of mercury in products such as electrical
switches and requiring the removal of mercury from the stack gases of
coal-burning power plants. The effectiveness of these strategies in reduc-
ing the accumulation of mercury in the food chain will depend on the
interaction between the environmental releases and the global environ-
mental processing of mercury that allows it to bioaccumulate. The even-
tual effectiveness of the policies will depend on whether current analyses
of mercury stocks and flows, which have significant uncertainty, are ac-
curate.
STUDY AND REPORT
Understanding how to make the most economically and environmen-
tally efficient use of materials will require an understanding of the flow of
materials from the time a material is extracted, though processing, manu-
facturing, use, and its ultimate destination as a waste or reusable resource.
It will also require knowledge of the environmental and societal impacts
of the flow.
The National Research Council was commissioned by the Depart-
ment of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science
Foundation, and U.S. Geological Survey to establish a Committee on
Material Flows Accounting of Natural Resources, Products, and Residu-
als to undertake a study to address material flows accounting issues. The
committee consisted of 11 experts from academia, industry, and govern-
ment with expertise in industrial ecology, mining and chemical engineer-
ing, sustainable design and construction, ecological economics, and toxi-
cology. Biographical sketches of the committee members are provided in
Appendix A.
The statement of task asked the committee to examine material flows
accounting. Specifically, the committee
· examined the usefulness of creating and maintaining material
flows accounts for developing sound public policy on the environment,
materials, and energy;
· evaluated the technical basis for material flows analysis;
· assessed the current state of material flows information, including
what data are collected, where they reside; quality, scale, and complete-
ness of the data; formats; accessibility; and the tools and methods avail-
able for analyzing the data;
· described how public and private sectors are currently using this
OCR for page 15
INTRODUCTION
15
information and how materials flow accounts can be improved through
partnerships or access to additional data; and
· determined who should have institutional responsibility for col-
lecting, maintaining, and providing access to additional data for material
flows accounts.
The committee did not undertake a cost-benefit analysis when con-
sidering the usefulness of creating and maintaining material flows ac-
counts. However, the committee did look qualitatively at the cost impact
of several implementation options and the recommendations in general.
To address its charge, the committee gathered, synthesized, and ana-
lyzed information by holding three information-gathering meetings be-
tween fuly 2002 and September 2002. The meetings included presenta-
tions by and discussions with the sponsors; personnel from government
programs; and representatives of industry, academia, and environmental
organizations from both the United States and abroad (Appendix B). The
full committee also met twice in closed session for discussion and writing.
As background material, the committee reviewed several documents and
materials including pertinent National Research Council reports, techni-
cal reports, and literature published through December 2002.
This report is intended for multiple audiences. It contains advice and
information for the sponsors as well as for other federal agencies, policy
makers, consultants, scientists, and engineers. Chapter 2 defines materi-
als and material flows accounting for the purposes of this report and pro-
vides some historical context. Chapter 3 places material flows accounting,
analysis, and issues in a broader societal context. Chapter 4 provides an
overview of the uses and usefulness of the applications of material flows
accounting. Chapter 5 recounts current sources of material flows informa-
tion in the United States and gaps in data, and examines the challenges of
integrating the numerous components involved in material flows analy-
sis. Chapter 6 describes how material flows accounting could benefit from
effective partnerships and outlines key issues to forming partnerships.
Chapter 7 discusses research issues related to material flows accounting,
including its linkage with the grand cycles of nature and how it may be
more useful. Chapter 8 describes an implementation scheme for the suc-
cessful development and use of material flows accounts.
OCR for page 16
16
MATERIALS COUNT
scale, and completeness of the data; formats; accessibility; and
the tools and methods available for analyzing the data;
described how public and private sectors are currently using this
information and how materials flow accounts can be improved
through partnerships or access to additional data; and
· determined who should have institutional responsibility for
collecting, maintaining, and providing access to additional data
for material flows accounts.
The committee did not undertake a cost-benefit analysis when
considering the usefulness of creating and maintaining material flows
accounts. However, the committee did Took qualitatively at the cost
impact of several implementation options and the recommendations in
general.
To address its charge, the committee gathered, synthesized, and
analyzed information by holding three information-gathering meetings
between July 2002 and September 2002. The meetings inclu(led
presentations by and discussions with the sponsors; personnel from
government programs; and representatives of industry, academia, and
environmental organizations from both the United States and abroad
(Appendix B). The full committee also met twice in closed session for
discussion and writing. As background material, the committee reviewed
several documents and materials including pertinent National Research
Council reports, technical reports, and literature published through
December 2002.
This report is intended for multiple audiences. It contains advice and
information for the sponsors as well as for other federal agencies, policy
makers, consultants, scientists, and engineers. Chapter 2 defines
materials and material flows accounting for the purposes of this report
and provides some historical context. Chapter 3 places material flows
accounting, analysis, and issues in a broader societal context. Chapter 4
provides an overview of the uses and usefulness of the applications of
material flows accounting. Chapter 5 recounts current sources of material
flows information in the United States and gaps in data, and examines
the challenges of integrating the numerous components involved in
material flows analysis. Chapter 6 describes how material flows
accounting could benefit from effective partnerships and outlines key
issues to forming partnerships. Chapter 7 discusses research issues
related to material flows accounting, including its linkage with the grand
cycles of nature and how it may be more useful. Chapter ~ describes an
PRE-PUBLICATION VERSION, SUBJECT TO EDITORIAL CHANGES
Representative terms from entire chapter:
south africa
