Wood in Our Future: The Role of Life-Cycle Analysis Proceedings of a Symposium (1997) / Chapter Skim
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT APPLIED TO DECISION MAKING
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT APPLIED TO DECISION MAKING
Pages 77-91
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From page 77... ...
In the product system, the emerging concept of extended product responsibility is one example of impact assessment applied to decision making.
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From page 78... ...
Some decisions made by Georgia-Pacific and others in the complex area of forest management are offered as examples. The need to protect bald eagle nesting areas in Maine, the red-cockaded woodpecker in the Southeast, and the coho salmon and the steelhead trout in the Pacific Northwest were included in our decisions made as part of good management practices.
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From page 79... ...
It can be said that the ends sought in NEPA, explicitly stated in Section 102, are our national equivalent of and an analogue to the balance sought in the more recent global sustainable development declaration of the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987~. The NEPA went farther than the Brundtland Commission did by requiring the assessment of environmental impacts using an interdisciplinary approach in any planning and decision making with an impact on the environment.
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From page 80... ...
; Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ; Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)
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It illustrates, for each element of the product system model, the applicable major assessment methods, as well as the endpoints and distinguishing characteristics from the other elements of the model. There are four major assessment approaches that deserve a brief description here.
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defines human health risk assessment in terms of four components: hazard identification, dose- response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. It must be understood that this type of assessment is mostly concerned with discrete chemical or physical stressors on individuals and populations.
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A more recent study report on research needs in life-cycle analysis for the European Union (Groupe des Sages, 1995) states that spatial differentiation of impacts is a critical issue specifically as it relates to equivalence factors.
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Decisions made with erroneous inputs or based on exaggerated "cautionary principles" are bound to be inefficient and contrary to the concept of sustainable development. The above discussion cites the reasons for eliminating life-cycle analyses for purposes of ecosystem environmental impact assessment.
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From page 85... ...
As indicated earlier, experts developed the concept of stressors and specific levels of assessment methods for alternative forest assessments. To implement Level 5, we, of course, do not need to talk so much about life-cycle impact assessment but instead we should evaluate other assessment methodologies, such as those described in Table 9-1.
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From page 86... ...
Harvest and mortality estimates do not establish any preconceived threshold that excludes wood volumes from measurements. Instead, the growth measurement excludes growth smaller than breast height diameters of six or eight inches.
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From page 87... ...
By definition, product stewardship involves understanding the resources consumed and the environmental, safety, and health impacts of the products we manufacture, to ensure these impacts are controlled or minimized (Galeano, 1995~. As depicted in Figure 9-2, product stewardship relies on two assessment tools: risk assessment and life-cycle analysis.
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From page 88... ...
This new concept is based on the search for more "ecoefficient" approaches, and it requires impact assessment methodologies to help in decision making. Figure 9-3, which depicts the position of EPR in a structure for sustainable development, illustrates the need for assessment tools in reaching decisions.
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Regulatory Policy Options FIGURE 9-3 Expanded product responsibility within the sustainable development structure. ucts, the inventory methodology has been enhanced to better reflect characteristics and operational features particular to our products and operations (Galeano, 1996b)
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From page 90... ...
For wood products, specific enhancements in the life-cycle inventory methodology are in development to properly reflect characteristics of biotic resources. Only in this manner will life-cycle inventories be useful for wood products assessment in product stewardship and extended product stewardship situations.
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From page 91... ...
Proceedings Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) International Environmental Conference, Atlanta, Georgia.
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