Page 5 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

L1644_C00.fm Page 7 Tuesday, October 21, 2003 3:05 PM

Foreword

Much of the 20 century’s focus has been on economic progress, toward which
th
humankind has made giant steps. Increasingly, unwanted side effects such as acid
rain, climate change and various forms of environmentally induced toxic pollution
are becoming more manifest and demanding increased attention. With the need for
equal development opportunities for all, the issue of sustainability is becoming
increasingly important; in my opinion, it will be one of the key issues for the 21 st
century. As such, sustainable development is about the welfare of human beings and
a natural environment that does not reduce the possibilities of future generations,
without losing sight of economic continuity of the current generation.
We are beginning to recognize that the path toward sustainability requires a life-
cycle approach. The internal logic of life-cycle thinking extends the traditional focus
of environmental engineering on production facilities to all stages of the value chain,
which are relevant from an environmental point of view, including the production,
consumption, use and waste management phases. This implies a holistic, system-
analytical point of view and the cooperation between the different stakeholders
throughout the life of the product.
A largely used instrument in the assessment of environmental impacts is risk
assessment for chemical substances applied, for instance, to accident forecasting
and regulatory monitoring of industrial facilities. There is a clear necessity to link
this approach with the existing environmental analysis tool that applies a life-cycle
perspective, life-cycle assessment, that is alive and well in the U.S.
This is why I enthusiastically welcome Integrated Life-Cycle and Risk Assess-
ment for Industrial Processes. In this book Guido Sonnemann, Francesc Castells
and Marta Schuhmacher provide not only an updated introduction to life-cycle
assessment, but also to risk assessment. While they demonstrate the potential for a
further integration of these two approaches, they also show the limits and constraints.
I certainly agree with them on the usefulness and need for a toolbox comprised of
varied environmental system analysis methods and approaches.
There are quite a lot of endeavors to be undertaken in environmental system
analysis. We are still at the beginning. I look forward to our continued journey
together.

Mary Ann Curran
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268 USA
Ph: 1-513-569-7782 Fax: 1-513-569-7111
curran.maryann@epa.gov

© 2004 CRC Press LLC