Hazard statements: looking for alternatives to toxicity evaluation using LCA

Life Cycle Assessment is a methodology for the evaluation of potential hazards to the environment and to human health. It can be used for decision support when selecting materials for a product. It is a detailed method that can become very labor intensive. As alternatives, we introduce here two methodologies for ranking products and materials according to their safety: Both methods are built on two pieces of European legislation. Hazard Traffic Lights is a qualitative visual way to quickly identify potential hazards. Total Hazard Points is a quantitative method for weighting the different hazards related to a product. It is based on the method developed for the German Environmental Agency (UBA), but its scope includes all materials and hazards, rather than a selection of them. As a case study, we evaluated the 9 batteries described in the UBA study and compared our results with those presented there. In our opinion, batteries are in general terms more hazardous in the UBA study. This is due to more thorough identification of hazards –including some potentially more significant – and the inclusion of all the potential hazards of a material. Since not all the materials present in the battery were quantified, both sets of results should be considered an underestimation of the possible hazard.