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NANOTECHNOLOGY AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT: A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO NANOTECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Citation:
CURRAN, MARY ANN, P. FRANKL, R. HIEJUNGS, A. KOHLER, AND S. I. OLSON. NANOTECHNOLOGY AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT: A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO NANOTECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 2007.
Description:
This report summarizes the results of a two-day workshop jointly convened by the Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies; the US Environmental Protection Agency¿s Office of Research and Development; and the European Commission. Held in October 2006, the workshop involved 27 international experts from the fields of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and nanotechnology. The main program of the workshop consisted of introductory lectures, group discussions and a final plenary session. The purpose of the workshop was to determine whether existing LCA tools and methods are adequate to use on a new technology. This document provides an overview of LCA and nanotechnology, discusses the current state-of-the-art, identifies current knowledge gaps that may prevent the proper application of LCA in this field and makes recommendations on the application of LCA for assessing the potential environmental impacts of nanotechnology, nanomaterials, and nanoproducts.