Grantee Research Project Results
NCCLC: Network for Rapid Assessment of Chemical Life Cycle Impact
EPA Grant Number: R835579Title: NCCLC: Network for Rapid Assessment of Chemical Life Cycle Impact
Investigators: Suh, Sangwon , Keller, Arturo A. , Scott, Susannah , Seshadri, Ram , Doherty, Michael
Institution: University of California - Santa Barbara
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: December 1, 2013 through November 30, 2017 (Extended to November 30, 2019)
Project Amount: $4,887,644
RFA: EPA/NSF Networks for Characterizing Chemical Life Cycle (NCCLCs) (2013) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Chemical Safety for Sustainability
Objective:
The objective of the project is to develop an open-access, online tool, the Chemical Life-Cycle Builder (CLB) to evaluate life-cycle impacts for chemicals and materials at an early stage of the chemical product development process, when the precise manufacturing routes and fates of the products are still uncertain. Specifically, the CLB will (1) enable rapid, high-throughput screening of life-cycle impacts for new chemicals; (2) provide a platform for accessing, generating and sharing information on the life-cycle impacts of chemicals; and (3) expand life cycle thinking in emerging professionals, high school students and the general public through highly accessible, targeted modules.
Approach:
Modern societies generate and mobilize chemicals of enormous diversity and quantity. However, our understanding of the life-cycle environmental impacts of chemicals and materials has not kept pace with new discoveries, or with the production scale of chemicals. An international network that includes academic, industry and government partners will collaborate to develop the Chemical Life-Cycle Builder (CLB), an open-access, online tool. CLB will connect available online data with user-inputs through user-friendly graphical interface. Participants from a range of established and start-up companies will conduct pilot studies using a beta version of the CLB, providing feedback on its effectiveness, ease of use, and need for further improvements. The CLB will use common data exchange protocols to efficiently extract information from existing databases such as Integrated Risk Assessment System, Aggregated Computational Toxicology Tesource (ACToR), NIST Chemistry WebBook, TOXNET, eChemPortal, ToxCast, Cambridge Structural Database, REACH Database, and ZINC database, which together contain information on tens of millions of chemicals. The field knowledge and experience of the industry partners will ensure the relevance of the output.
Expected Results:
The project is expected to provide a platform for chemical and material life-cycle information exchange. A wide use of CLB will enable organically growing LCA database for chemicals and materials. The project is expected to help chemical producers understand potential environmental and human health consequences at an early stage of design, enabling informed decisions about design choices. CLB will provide an open-access platform for developing and sharing new data on the life-cycle impacts of chemicals. The project is expected to develop future chemical workforce via the active participation of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in their engagement in industry-academic partnerships, internships, and international experiences. The project will promote education of the public via accessible modules designed for use by high school students and the general public.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 34 publications for this projectJournal Articles:
Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 24 journal articles for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
risk assessment, ecological effects, human health, bioavailability, carcinogen, toxics, scaling, green chemistry, life-cycle analysis, alternatives, sustainable development, clean technologies, environmentally conscious manufacturing, public policy, decision making, environmental chemistry, modeling;Relevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
- Final Report
- 2018 Progress Report
- 2017 Progress Report
- 2016 Progress Report
- 2015 Progress Report
- 2014 Progress Report
24 journal articles for this project