An International Workshop on Life Cycle Impact Assessment Sophistication

ii Notice The views expressed in these Proceedings are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Scientists in EPA's Office of Research and Development have prepared the EPA sections, and those sections have been reviewed in accordance with EPA's peer and administrative review policies and approved for presentation and publication. iii Foreword The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is charged by Congress with protecting the Nation's land, air, and water resources. Under a mandate of national environmental laws, the Agency strives to formulate and implement actions leading to a compatible balance between human activities and the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life. To meet this mandate, EPA's research program is providing data and technical support for solving environmental problems today and building a science knowledge base necessary to manage our ecological resources wisely, understand how pollutants affect our health, and prevent or reduce environmental risks in the future. The National Risk Management Research Laboratory is the Agency's center for investigation of technological and management approaches for reducing risks from threats to human health and the environment. The focus of the Laboratory's research program is on methods for the prevention and control of pollution to air, land, water and subsurface resources; protection of water quality in public water systems; remediation of contaminated sites and ground water; and prevention and control of indoor air pollution. The goal of this research effort is to catalyze development and implementation of innovative, cost-effective environmental technologies; develop scientific and engineering information needed by EPA to support regulatory and policy decisions; and provide technical support and information transfer to ensure effective implementation of environmental regulations and strategies. This publication has been produced as part of the Laboratory's strategic long-term research plan. It is published and made available by EPA's Office of Research and Development to assist the user community and to link researchers with their clients. iv Preface This is the report of the second workshop on a topic in the field of Life Cycle Assessment organized under the auspices of UNEP. The first one was held in June 1998 in San Francisco under the title " Towards a Global Use of LCA ". An important characteristic of that workshop was the strong input from experts of developing countries. The second workshop was in Brussels in November 1998, and focused on …