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take decades to reach the poles and hence continue their adverse effects for a
prolonged time. When significant emissions or dominating impacts of ODS are
observed in LCIs or LCA results nowadays, it is likely because the data originate
from references before the phase-out and hence it is most likely an artefact due to
obsolete data, unless the end-of-life treatment of old refrigeration and
air-conditioning systems are an important component of the LCA.

10.7.4 Existing Characterisation Models

Without any exception, all existing LCIA methods use the ODP as midpoint
indicator (although not all of them have the most recent version). For endpoint
characterisation, different midpoint-to-endpoint models are applied that relate ozone
depletion to increased UV radiation and ultimately to skin cancer and cataract in
humans. All endpoint LCIA methods characterise impacts on human health, but
only the Japanese method LIME additionally considers impacts on Net Primary
Productivity (NPP) for coniferous forests, agriculture (soybean, rice, green pea,
mustard) and phytoplankton at high latitudes. For further details see Chap. 40 and
Hauschild and Huijbregts (2015).

10.8 Acidification

10.8.1 Problem

During the 1980s and 90s, the effects of acidification of the environment became
clearly visible in the form of a pronounced lack of health especially among conifers
in many forests in Europe and the USA, resulting locally in forest decline, leading
to accelerated clearing of whole forests. Clear acidic lakes without fish go right
back to the beginning of the twentieth century, occurring locally for example in
Norway and Sweden as a result of human activities, but the extent of the problem
increased dramatically in more recent times, and during the 1990s there was serious
acidification in more than 10,000 Scandinavian lakes. Metals, surface coatings and
mineral building materials exposed to wind and weather are crumbling and disin-
tegrating at a rate which is unparalleled in history, with consequent major
socio-economic costs and loss of irreplaceable historic monuments in many parts of
the industrialised world.
The acidification problems were one of the main environmental concerns in
Europe and North America in the 1980s and 90s but through targeted regulation of
the main sources in the energy, industry and transportation sectors followed by
liming to restore the pH of the natural soils and waters, it is no longer a major
concern in these regions. In China, however, acidification impacts are dramatic in