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The applicability of life cyle analysis and alternative methods in the wood preservation industry
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50023
In the Netherlands, several case studies have been performed using the life cycle analysis method (LCA). This type of research is aimed at an inventory and classification (sometimes including also evaluation) of the environmental impacts of a product, from the raw material to waste stage ("cradle to grave" approach). In a LCA each environmental impact is assessed in terms of, for example, mass of ...
P Esser, J Cramer


Establishment of a laboratory method to characterise the ecotoxicity of a polluted soil
1998 - IRG/WP 98-50101-23
This method consists in using the underground grub of the Oxythyrea funesta beetle as a bioindicator of the soils pollution. Due to the significant tolerance of the organism, a large type of substrate of different nature and grain size could have been studied. We have tested substances and preparations such as wood preservation products even under powder or liquid form but also some wastes of di...
P Martinet


Life cycle analysis: Assessing environmental impact
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50034
Environmental impact assesment is a major issue that faces every nation today. However, consistently and objectively measuring the environmental impact is difficult. During the past two decades, a process called life cycle analysis was developed that tried to make consistent and objective environmental assessments. The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry broadened the concept to not ...
S L LeVan


Life cycle analysis of utility poles. A Swiss case study
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-05
Use of preservative-treated wood products faces increasing public and political pressure because of environmental concerns regarding the chemicals used to protect the wood. However, critics usually focus only on one single aspect of the whole life cycle of treated wood products, disregarding other environmental effects of timber utilization. To evaluate the ecological consequences of wooden utilit...
T Künniger, K Richter


LCA applied for wooden products
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50059
This paper presents some of the international developments within ISO and SETAC to standardize and harmonize LCA methodologies. In this framework it is also important to be aware of the problems that companies have to generate and validate data for the complete product chain from cradle to grave. This concerns problems in nomenclature of substances and processes, system boundaries, allocation prob...
A Kloppenburg, A Van Dam


Waste management of wood products in life cycle assessment
2000 - IRG/WP 00-50154
Within the framework of the European project LIFE SYS WOOD (contractnr. FAIR CT95-7026) TNO has performed a study on the waste management of wood demolition waste for inclusion in Life Cycle Assessment. In LIFE SYS WOOD one of the main aims was to develop a consistent LCA methodology for wood products. LCA case studies have been performed by partners on wood as raw material, glulam contructions, O...
P Esser, P Eggels, A Voss


Life-cycle assessement of treated wood: A view from the roa
1996 - IRG/WP 96-50078
Life Cycle Assessement (LCA) is being used increasingly as a tool to structure information on the environmental characteristics of material and processes. This paper is based on the experience gained from our LCA studies on treated wood products over the last 4 years. The comprehensive and logical examination af the information available on treated timber provided by LCA has allowed identification...
W Hillier, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson, J N B Bell


Borates as wood preservatives - an environmental, health and safety perspective
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-03
Boron compounds are highly effective wood preservatives and have an established safe use in the timber treatment industry. Their widespread background occurrence in nature, low acute mammalian toxicity and useful properties make them versatile active ingredients within today's environmentally aware society. A critical review of health, safety and environmental data on the borates, their u...
J B Rainer


A methodology for the life-cycle assessment of treated timber products
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-01
Using case studies of CCA-treated motorway fenceposts and creosote-treated electricity transmission poles, the paper suggests an approach to evaluation of the overall environmental impact of treated timber products, utilising the emerging systems analysis method of life-cycle assessment (LCA). The development and application of LCA methodologies to date is reviewed and the key features identified....
S R Smith, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Dutch national environmental policy strategy (NMP): Implications throughout the life cycle of treated timber and for the Dutch preservation industry
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-31
All overview of relevant environmental legislation and instruments for control is given for each stage of the life cycle of treated timber. Recent policy in the Netherlands has been focused around the "National Environmental Policy Strategy", in which a general policy with regard to reduction of pollution to the air, soil and water is described. The principle is one of an "Integrated Chain of Cont...
P Esser, D A Lewis, A J Pendlebury


Environmental consequences of various materials in utility poles - A life cycle analysis
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3726
A model for environmental life cycle analysis, LCA, has been created to compare environmental impact from transmission poles, made alternatively of concrete, steel, aluminium and pine wood treated with CCA type B or creosote. The main pollution sources and energy use are included in the LCA. One pole size, 12 meters long, is presented in the study, a so called "45 kV" pole. Poles of different mate...
M Erlandsson, K Ödeen, M-L Edlund


Environmental evaluation of products by life cycle analysis [La problématique de lévaluation environnementale des produits à partir de l'analyse de leur cycle de vie et de leur "écobilan"]
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50002
In the last years a significant evolution in terms of industrial environment emerged. It has been realized that regulations on specific pollutants, controls on industrial sites, although indispensable actions, had to be completed with extended approaches based on the assessment of products and integrated substance chain management. To take into account such an approach, methodological researches h...
G C Landrieu


Assessment of the environmental impacts in life cycle analysis
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-31
Evaluation of environmental impacts is of crucial importance nowadays but it is a complex problem. Different methodologies have been proposed for the last 20 years such as the "Life Cycle Assessment" (LCA) approach. Life Cycle Assessment is an evalution tool of the impacts on the environment of a system including the whole activities associated with, from the extraction of the raw materials to the...
I Blanc-Sommereux


Life cycle approached environmental information to promote treated timber
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50224-13
This paper exemplifies the possibilities to compare products and product systems with help of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool for environmental assessment. IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute has developed a concept for evaluation of environmental impacts based on normalisation, based on so called environmental quality objectives (EQO). This concept makes it possible to compare a pr...
M Erlandsson


Life Cycle Assessment of borate treated wood
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50224-12
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is being used increasingly around the world by decision-makers to help incorporate the environmental component of sustainability into their activities. U.S. Borax regularly assesses how its products contribute to sustainable development. Using data gleaned from LCA of its products, the company recently completed its first ISO 14040 compliant cradle-to-grave LCA of lum...
M J Manning


LCA examination of preservative treated timber products and alternatives; initial results
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-04
Co-operative development of an LCA methodology suitable for application to preservative treated products has been carried out, based on scoping assessments of two products, CCA treated fenceposts and creosote treated distribution poles. The general results of these scoping exercices are described, based on the CCA case study. These include the identification of critical stages in the life-cycle on...
W Hillier, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson, J N B Bell


Conclusions and Summary Report on an Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of ACQ-Treated Lumber Decking with Comparisons to Wood Plastic Composite Decking
2013 - IRG/WP 13-50295
The Treated Wood Council has completed a quantitative evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with the national production, use, and disposition of ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary)-treated lumber decking and wood plastic composite decking using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and following ISO 14044 standards. The results for treated wood decking are significant. • Less En...
AquAeTer, Inc.


Conclusions and Summary Report on an Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Borate-Treated Lumber Structural Framing with Comparisons to Galvanized Steel Framing
2013 - IRG/WP 13-50296
The Treated Wood Council has completed a quantitative evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with the national production, use, and disposition of borate (disodium octaborate tetrahydrate)-treated lumber structural framing and galvanized steel framing using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and following ISO 14044 standards. The results for treated wood framing are significant....
AquAeTer, Inc.


Conclusions and Summary Report Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Highway Guard Rail Posts
2013 - IRG/WP 13-50297
The Treated Wood Council has completed a quantitative evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with the national production, use, and disposition of treated wood and galvanized steel highway guard rail posts using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and following ISO 14044 standards. The results for treated wood guard rail posts are significant. • Less Energy & Resource Use: ...
AquAeTer, Inc.


Conclusions and Summary Report Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Marine Pilings
2013 - IRG/WP 13-50298
The Treated Wood Council has completed a quantitative evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with the national production, use, and disposition of treated wood, concrete, galvanized steel, and plastic marine piles using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and following ISO 14044 standards. The results for treated wood piles are significant. • Less Energy & Resource Use: Tre...
AquAeTer, Inc.


Conclusions and Summary Report on an Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Utility Poles
2013 - IRG/WP 13-50299
The Treated Wood Council has completed a quantitative evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with the national production, use, and disposition of pentachlorophenol-treated wood, concrete, galvanized steel, and fiber-reinforced composite utility poles using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and following ISO 14044 standards. The results for treated wood poles are significant. ...
AquAeTer, Inc.


Wood Protection and Environmental Performance of Products - Impacts COST Action FP1407 Aims to Bring
2016 - IRG/WP 16-50323
Though many aspects of wood modification (chemical, thermal, impregnation) treatments are known, the fundamental influence of the process on product performance, the environment, and end of life scenarios remain unknown. To contribute to the low-carbon economy and sustainable development, it is essential to integrate interactive assessment of process parameters, developed product properties, and e...
A Kutnar


Analysis of Wood Industrial Pollutants Based on Emission Coefficients
2017 - IRG/WP 17-50325
Accurate calculation and estimation pollutants is one of the basic tasks of environmental protection .The low carbon economy put forward However,low carbon economy data of wood industry is lack. The paper research on emissions and pollution of Chinese wood industry. The results showed dust emissions from much to least is: fiberboard, plywood and particle board; the amount of industrial ...
Chu Jie, Ma Ji, Zhangjing Chen


Uncertainty in life cycle assessment of preservative treated wood – copper and freshwater ecotoxicity
2017 - IRG/WP 17-50331
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for quantifying the environmental impacts of a product over the life cycle. In the last years, there have been a growing application of LCA in developments of environmental product declaration (EPD), which is utilised by professional procurement of materials for buildings. For legislative issues, LCA have also been used to assess application of creosote to t...
L G F Tellnes


Declaring life cycle inventory of toxicity related emissions in environmental product declarations of preservative treated wood products
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50339
Life cycle assessment (LCA) including impacts on toxicity for preservative treated wood has been shown to have large uncertainties. With the growing demand for verified LCA in environmental product declarations (EPD), the need for reliable data is crucial for realistic assessment of wood products. Uncertainty is caused by several issues such as service life prediction, leaching rates and calculati...
L G F Tellnes, C Askham, P-O Flæte, M Klamer