Page 217 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

4.4 Method of Impact Categories (Environmental Problem Fields) 201

research work to overcome the disadvantages of ‘automated’ valuation processes.
IFEU has proposed ‘a verbal-argumentative’ valuation procedure, 52) which literally
proposes a true alternative for mechanical computation of purely numerical values.
Kl¨ opffer and co-workers investigated the origins of the values necessary for a valu-
ation and on how to provide mathematical tools (Hasse-diagrams) for an improved
structuring of verbal-argumentative results. 53) An extensive discussion coordinated
by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment and UBA Berlin, which was
joined by the Federal Association of the German Industry (BDI), did not provide
any results. 54) Some aspects capable of consensus, according to ISO 14040, were
55)
integrated into the UBA methodology ‘Bewertung99’. Further information about
this crucial topic is provided in Chapter 5.
4.3.3.4 Additional Analysis of Data Quality
This component of the standard is also completely misplaced, because similar
requirements are a basic element of the LCA phase interpretation. The demand
for an additional analysis of data quality at this stage of the impact assessment can
only be interpreted to mean that the impact assessment with immature methods
can lead to misjudgement. This is supported by the fact that this component of the
impact assessment is not an option but mandatory for use in comparative assertions
intended for publication.
Three specific methods are suggested:
• Centre of Gravity analysis,
• Uncertainty analysis,
• Sensitivity analysis.
The results of the analysis can suggest the need for an improvement of the inventory
analysis, for example, if the data procured in the inventory are not sufficient for
a correct conduct of an impact assessment. The methods for an analysis of data
quality are discussed in Chapter 5.

4.4
Method of Impact Categories (Environmental Problem Fields)

4.4.1
Introduction

As the framework, according to international standards of the LCIA, has already
been discussed in Section 4.3, the scientific part and the historical development,
to some extent, is now elaborated. This latter aspect would be obsolete if all the
methods have been fully developed. This being impossible, some ‘historical’ aspects

52) Giegrich et al. (1995).
53) Kl¨ opffer and Volkwein (1995), Volkwein and Kl¨ opffer (1996) and Volkwein, Gihr and Kl¨ opffer
(1996).
54) BDI (1999) and UBA (1999).
55) Schmitz and Paulini (1999).