Page 285 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

4.5 Impact Categories, Impact Indicators and Characterisation Factors 269

Considerable progress in the area, mostly in the context of the EU-projects
OMNITOX 269) and UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, 270) are discussed in the two
subsequent Sections 4.5.3.2 and 4.5.3.3. First we take a look at the ‘simpler’ indica-
tors based on the principle less-is-better, which can also be used with non-regional
inventory data and be applied without knowledge of special impact mechanisms.
The method IMPACT2002+ is of special importance for a characterisation of the
impact categories human toxicity and ecotoxicity, and was developed by an inter-
national working group chaired by Olivier Jolliet. 271) It interconnects 14 mid-point
categories with four damage categories:
• human health
• quality of ecosystems
• climate change
• resources.
These ‘Damage Categories’ are also called Safeguard Subjects, Areas of Protection
and, most ambiguously, Endpoints. 272) The damage category called climate change in
IMPACT2002+ should not be confused with the impact category of the same name
even though they are closely connected.

4.5.3.2 Human Toxicity

4.5.3.2.1 Problem Definition According to Table 4.4 this impact category was
designated by DIN/NAGUS 273) as ‘toxic hazard to humans’, by SETAC Europe 274)
as human toxicological impacts; a similar definition has been given in the Nordic
Guidelines. 275) In a second working group of SETAC Europe for impact assessment
in LCA (WIA-2) 276) the expression human toxicity is applied.
The main difficulty of this category, more than those already discussed, is owing
to the fact that a strictly scientific composite indicator ‘upstream’ in the impact
hierarchy that is closer to the emissions (mid-point) does not exist. Toxic molecules
do not have a common attribute which corresponds to the acidic function in the
case of AP or to the P or N content in the case of the EP respectively. Neither
measurable physical or chemical parameters exist according to which an impact
potential, like GWP or ODP could be calculated using theoretical models. There are
too many different impact mechanisms leading to diseases or groups of diseases

269) Operational Models and Information tools for Industrial applications of eco/TOXicological
impact assessment (OMNITOX). Special edition Int. J. LCA Vol. 9, No. 5 (2004); Larsen et al.
(2004) and Molander et al. (2004).
270) Jolliet et al. (2004); http://lcinitiative.unep.fr; http://www.uneptie.org/pc/sustain/lcinitiative/
home/htm;Hauschild et al. (2008) and Rosenbaum et al. (2008, 2011).
271) Jolliet et al. (2003, 2004).
272) Assignable damages are called endpoints in (eco) toxicology. For these test procedures or research
methods are developed. Known endpoints for example are probabilities of mortality such as
LD50 or LC50.
273) DIN/NAGUS (1996).
274) Udo de Haes (1996).
275) Lindfors et al. (1994, 1995).
276) Udo de Haes et al. (2002).