Abstract
Nowadays, hazardous substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are still being used and released in steel plate priming processes. These releases might have severe negative impacts on the environment. One of the well-established methods for the evaluation of these impacts is the life cycle assessment method. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to justify product substitution in a Lithuanian company due to regulatory concerns. In this study, life cycle impacts of this substitution were assessed by using LCA methodology. The results, within the mentioned uncertainties, indicated that the substitution to the water based primer paint was beneficial in all environmental impact categories. The study results also showed the importance of conducting an LCA study, and the shortcomings of local assessments. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.72.2.16236
Highlights
Environmental concerns caused by the production of products and the supply of services are increasing in our current society, despite exponential growth in technological advances (Magee, 2016)
The analysed company is exceeding the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission limits and is using some hazardous substances according to Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) (2010/75/EU) (EU 2010) and Paints Directive 2004/42/EC (EU 2004)
The goal of this study is defined as the evaluation of life cycle environmental impacts of 2 ‘shop primer’ paint products produced in Denmark to be used in the Lithuanian company: Shopprimer A and Shopprimer B
Summary
Environmental concerns caused by the production of products and the supply of services are increasing in our current society, despite exponential growth in technological advances (Magee, 2016). It is highly probable that the future of technology will enable the supply of goods and services with negligible environmental impact, today that is not the case. The disposal rate is not showing any decline trend (Eurostat 2015). Greenhouse gas emissions have not declined dramatically since 2005 (Eurostat 2016a). There are 4 major criteria that determine the impacts of such human activities on the environment: human needs, state of technologies, policy and policy implementation, and the reaction of the environment towards disturbances. The latter one is generally considered to be risky and hard to control by humans because of the complex feedback loops in the natural ecosystem. This concept is similar to the DPSIR framework used by the European Environment Agency (EEA) (EEA 2007)
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