Life Cycle Assessments

Life Cycle Assesment (LCA(

• Looks at each stage of the life of a product

• It works out the potential environmental impact of each stage

Stage 1 - Obtaining the raw material

• Metals have to be mined or extracted from their ore → needs a lot of energy and causes a lot of pollution

• Raw materials for chemical manufacture often come from crude oil → crude oil is non-renewable & supplies are decreasing + obtaining crude oil from the ground and refining it requires a lot of energy & generates pollution

Stage 2 - Manufacturing the product

• Uses a lot of energy

• It can cause a lot of pollution

• It creates a lot of waste that needs to be disposed → some water can be recycle to reduced pollution

• Most chemical manufacture needs water → businesses need to make sure they don’t put polluted water back into the environment at the end of the process

Stage 3 - Product use

• Using the product can damage the environment

• Paint gives off toxic fumes

• Burning fuels releases greenhouse gases and other harmful substances

• Fertilisers can leach into streams and rivers and cause damage to ecosystems

Stage 4 - Disposing of product when no longer useful

• Products often disposed in a landfill site at the end of their life

• This takes up space and can pollute land and water

• Products might be incinerated (burnt) which causes air pollution