Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10504370 | Environmental Impact Assessment Review | 2005 | 27 Pages |
Abstract
The results indicate that the environmental impacts attributable to the use phase dominate the environmental impacts incurred over the entire life cycle of the network. The impacts of the production phase are primarily attributable to the energy intensive manufacturing of printed wiring boards (PWB). The EOL phase dominates the impacts on ecosystem quality. In particular the long-term emissions of heavy metals have critical effects. Detailed analysis of the EOL phase shows that recycling of network materials in general leads to a two fold reduction of environmental impacts: in the EOL phase itself as well as by means of the avoided primary production of materials recovered in the EOL phase. An increase in the material quality of the secondary precious and rare materials leads to a significant reduction in the impacts on human health.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Energy
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Authors
Wolfram Scharnhorst, Hans-Jörg Althaus, Mischa Classen, Olivier Jolliet, Lorenz M. Hilty,