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- Arvidsson, Rickard, et al.
(författare)
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The Zinc Paradox – a Problem for USETox-based indicators of national chemical footprint
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Considering the immense problem of chemical pollution worldwide, there is a great need for methods that can be used to calculate indicators of chemical footprints. Such indicators can be calculated for products and services using life cycle assessment (LCA), but also for whole nations. Indicators of natio- nal chemical footprints may include emissions within the nation’s borders only, or also emissions related to consumption (thus having a life cycle perspective). A limited number of studies (< 5) have attempted to calculate indicators of national chemical footprints using the USEtox consensus model for toxicity impact assessment in LCA. One of these is our calculation of indicators of a national chemical footprint for Sweden. Two other studies have made similar assessments for Europe. Using the national perspective of these studies enables a rough validation of USEtox results, since the indicators of national chemiABSTRACTS 62 63 cal footprint based on USEtox can be compared to non-LCA toxicity assessments done on national levels. Such validations are not possible for LCA studies of single products. Notably, the results of existing assessments of indicators of national chemical footprints, including our Swedish study, all pinpoint zinc as the dominating substance. Zinc typically accounts for >50% of the toxicity impacts for both ecotoxicity and human toxicity. For ecotoxicity, this is not unreasonable considering the notable toxicity of zinc to aquatic organisms. For human toxicity, this result is more surprising. Zinc is an essential trace element for humans that many take as a dietary supplement to prevent zinc deficiency. Non-LCA sources describe zinc as “relatively harmless” to human health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not list zinc among the top ten chemicals of major public health concern, although there are other metals on the list (mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic). These contradictory claims about zinc’s health impact seem to constitute a paradox. We present a review of existing studies assessing indicators of national chemical footprints, and of toxicological research related to zinc. We further discuss potential causes of this zinc paradox, as well as implications for assessments of indicators of national chemical footprints with USEtox.
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- Finnveden, Göran, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
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A Holistic Approach for Integration of Sustainable Development in Education, Research, Collaboration and Operations
- 2017
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Ingår i: Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319478883 ; , s. 287-303
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2011 KTH Royal Institute of Technology started several new sustainable development initiatives. This paper will report on the journey. An Environmental Management System for the entire university has been established and KTH became ISO 14001 certified during 2015. The system includes operations but also education, research and collaboration. In this way we ensure that sustainability goals are integrated in the management system and that improvements are required continuously. For education an aim is that all educational programs should be able to report how they have integrated sustainability. The activities are focused on two complementary approaches: evaluation of the program’s work and providing tools and support for teaching staff and program directors. Preliminary results from the on-going evaluation indicate that progress has been made in several programs, but there is still room for improvements. For research, several bibliometric and external funding indicators show progress. During the winter of 2015 an evaluation was conducted and based on this it was decided that the activities should continue. A new policy for sustainable development as well as new sustainable development goals were decided during 2015.
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- Svenfelt, Åsa, et al.
(författare)
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Högst relevant att studera alternativ till tillväxt
- 2016
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Ingår i: Dagens samhälle. - : Dagens samhälle. - 1652-6511.
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Det finns gränser för hur mycket vi kan tömma vårt naturkapital utan att äventyra förutsättningarna för vårt eget och ekosystemens långsiktiga välbefinnande. Alternativ till ett system som bygger på ökad ekonomisk tillväxt är högst relevant för forskare att ta sig an.
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