Human health and ecotoxicological considerations in materials selection for sustainable product development
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Human health and ecotoxicological considerations in materials selection for sustainable product development Oladele A. Ogunseitan and Julie M. Schoenung The cost and performance of materials have traditionally been the primary factors considered by designers of consumer products. Recent attempts to quantify the environmental sustainability of such products have stimulated the development of methods for assessing the reserves of raw materials compared to the demand for their use in manufacturing and impacts on energy resources. To a much more limited extent, these strategies also evaluate how chemical toxicity, arising from material production, use, and disposal, affects human and environmental health. The mechanisms and adverse impacts of toxic effects vary widely at different points within material life cycles, making it difficult to establish internally consistent methods and weighting criteria for quantitative evaluation of the environmental liability of consumer products. This article reviews advances in the methodology and application of health and ecological impact assessments of materials used in consumer products and argues for a stronger integration of toxicity metrics into materials informatics databases.
Introduction In 1983, the United Nations convened the World Commission on Environment and Development in response to increasing international concerns about the depletion of natural resources and the global decline in the environment. The Commission’s 1987 report produced a widely quoted definition of sustainable development as that which “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”1 Although putting this definition into practice remains a challenge, assessing and controlling the rate at which raw materials are depleted for manufacturing has become an important focus for sustainability science. Beyond the supply of raw materials, however, the environmental and human health impacts of materials use can also impair society’s ability to sustain the planet for future generations. This article highlights the need to minimize the use of and exposure to toxic chemicals and materials. Approximately 83,000 chemicals are produced for commercial applications; many are used in widely distributed consumer products (e.g., electronics, furniture, textiles). Of these, characterizations of toxicity risks to people and the environment are available for less than 10%.2 Therefore, despite growing initiatives to substitute safer alternatives for toxic components, gaps persist in the knowledge on how to proceed.3
In response to this dearth of information, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge Program, a voluntary initiative that asks manufacturers to publicize information on health and environmental effects of chemicals that are either manufactured or imported in the United States in annual quantities exceeding 453 t (1 million pounds). In contrast, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Dev
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