Session: Packaging

Use of OSHA Data in an LCI Approach to Develop Safety Indicators for the Production of Selected Packaging Materials
Beverly J. Sauer,^*   Franklin Associates, A Division of ERG

Recently, there has been a proliferation of programs and initiatives that assess the sustainability or preferability of different packaging materials. One of the criteria used in some programs is toxicity.

Traditional toxicology studies assess health issues associated with end-product materials and do not consider the cumulative harmful effects of the “upstream” sequence of processes required to produce the material. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) evaluates potential impacts on human health and the environment for the aggregated emissions released over a product’s life cycle; however, aggregated life cycle emissions lack important details. The total release of a substance may reflect a single high-concentration release or multiple low-level releases at different locations and times. These two scenarios would likely have significantly different health impacts. OSHA statistics can supplement LCIA with actual data on worker illnesses that more accurately reflect the impacts of on-the-job exposures in various industry sectors. OSHA data also include injuries relating to occupational hazards (e.g., dangerous equipment) that are not tracked in LCA.

Relying on OSHA data for the industry sector of an end product or material (e.g., plastic resin production or a paperboard mill) neglects the health and safety implications of upstream processes. However, life cycle models provide a framework for evaluating the complete sequence of process steps, resulting in a more complete indication of associated health risks.

The purpose of the project described here was to incorporate published OSHA data into life cycle models at the unit process level to determine cradle-to-material OSHA "scores" for selected packaging materials. Common packaging materials analyzed included several plastic resins, aluminum, and paperboard.

Although a number of assumptions and allocations were required to assign OSHA data to specific unit processes, the approach was sufficient to make some comparative conclusions about cradle-to-material health and safety risks for different materials. The exercise also demonstrated that unit processes with the largest contributions to the total score tended to be raw material extraction steps or steps closest to final material production. Fortunately, these are also the steps for which OSHA data required the fewest allocation assumptions.

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