On the Road to a Sustainable and Healthy Circular Economy in the Netherlands: A layered dynamic material flow analysis and a life cycle impact assessment of flame retardant additives in Dutch passenger vehicle plastics

Flame retardants are added to plastics in passenger vehicles to save lives. However, their releases can, in some cases, be accompanied by undesired impacts to human health and the environment. In the context of a transition to a Circular Economy, it is therefore important to keep track of the flow of flame retardants in passenger vehicle...

Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design Framework Based on a Prospective Life Cycle Assessment: Lessons Learned from a Nano-Titanium Dioxide Case Study

Safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) is a concept that takes a systems approach by integrating safety, sustainability, and functionality throughout a product’s the life cycle. This paper proposes a framework based on a prospective life cycle assessment for early safety and sustainability assessment. The framework’s purpose is to identify...

Considering the Fate of Evaporated Water across Basin Boundaries - Implications for Water Footprinting

Water consumption along value chains of goods and services has increased globally and led to increased attention on water footprinting. Most global water consumption is accounted for by evaporation (E), which is connected via bridges of atmospheric moisture transport to other regions on Earth. However, the resultant source-receptor...

Including the Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Moths in Life Cycle Impact Assessment

The aim of this research is to implement the effects of artificial light at night on moths in a model that functions as an impact category in the life cycle assessment methodology. The model defines the attraction of moths in a specific region of influence. This attraction might result in multiple direct and indirect effects that could lead to...

Human health impacts of aviation biofuel production: Exploring the application of different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods for biofuel supply chains

The life cycle human health (HH) impacts related to aviation biofuels have been understood in a limited way. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods for assessing HH are often associated with a high level of uncertainty and a low level of consensus. As a result, it remains challenging to perform a robust assessment of HH impacts with a...