Paulillo, A;
Clift, R;
Dodds, JM;
Milliken, A;
Palethorpe, SJ;
Lettieri, P;
(2020)
Radiological Impacts in Life Cycle Assessment. Part I: General framework and two practical methodologies.
Science of The Total Environment
, 708
, Article 135179. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135179.
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Abstract
To date, impacts of ionising radiations have been largely disregarded in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This omission can be linked to the lack of a standard and comprehensive framework for including the effects of radionuclides alongside other emissions from industrial processes. Drawing on a recent review of Radiological Impact Assessment methodologies for LCA studies, this article proposes an overarching framework for integrating impacts of radionuclides in the Impact Assessment phase of LCA. From this framework, two alternative methodologies have been derived. They differ mainly in the way transport and dispersion of radionuclides in the environment are modelled: UCrad represents the first-of-its-kind compartment-type methodology for radionuclides, whereas the alternative Critical Group Methodology (CGM) has been adapted from standard Risk Assessment practices. Characterisation factors for a range of emitted species have been calculated using both methodologies and compared with those obtained from the Human Health Damages methodology, which is the only approach to radiological impacts yet implemented in LCA. For both UCrad and CGM the results are in general agreement with the Human Health Damages methodology, but UCrad gives factors closer to those obtained by the CGM approach. UCrad represents a major step towards incorporating ionising radiation impacts in LCIA. A subsequent paper will explore quantitatively the main differences between the UCrad and CGM methodologies.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Radiological Impacts in Life Cycle Assessment. Part I: General framework and two practical methodologies |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135179 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135179 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Life Cycle Impact Assessment, Ionising radiations, Radiological Impacts, Risk assessment, Radionuclides, Nuclear waste |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10086950 |
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