Human health damages due to indoor sources of organic compounds and radioactivity in life cycle impact assessment of dwellings - Part 2: Damage scores

Coal, Scope and Background. In industrialized Countries such as the Netherlands, the concentration Of Pollutants originating from building materials in the indoor environment his shown art increasing trend during the last decades due to improved isolation and decreased ventilation of dwellings. These pollutants may give rise to negative impacts on human health, ranging from irritation to tumours. However, such negative impacts oil health are not included ill Current life cycle assessments of dwellings. In this Study, damages to the health Of Occupants caused by a number of organic compounds and by radioactivity emitted by building materials, including those due to indoor exposure, have been calculated for a number of categories of common building materials. The total damage to human health due to emissions occurring in the use phase of the Dutch reference dwelling is compared with the total damage to human health associated with the rest of the life cycle of the same dwelling. Methods. Human health damage scores per kilogram Of building material for compartments of the Dutch reference dwelling hive been calculated using the methodology described ill part I of this research. This Methodology includes the calculation of the fate, effect and damage factors, based oil disability adjusted life years (DALYs), and has been applied assuming average concentrations Of Pollutants in building materials. Damage scores for health impacts of exposure to Pollutants emitted during the production and the disposal phase Of the same building materials were calculated using standard LCIA methodology. Results and Discussion. Human health damage scores due to emissions Of Pollutants Occurring in the use phase Of building materials applied at the first or second floor are Lip to 20 times lower or higher than the corresponding damage scores associated with the rest of the life cycle of the same building materials. The damage scores due to emissions Occurring ill the use Phase Of building materials applied in the crawlspace are tip to 105 times lower than those of building materials applied ill the other compartments. The total damage to human health due to emissions occurring in the use phase of the Dutch reference dwelling has the same order of magnitude as the total damage to human health associated with the rest of the life cycle of the same dwelling. At a dwelling level, radon and gamma radiation are dominant in the human health damage score among the pollutants Studied. Conclusion. Health damages due to indoor exposure to contaminants emitted by building materials cannot be neglected for several materials when compared with damage scores associated with the rest of the life cycle of the same building materials. Indoor exposure to pollutants emitted by building materials should be included in the life cycle assessment of dwellings in order to make the assessment better reflect full impact of the life cycle.