Manuele Margni | École Polytechnique de Montréal (original) (raw)
Papers by Manuele Margni
Sustainability
The transformation of a river into a reservoir and the subsequent occupation of the riverbed by a... more The transformation of a river into a reservoir and the subsequent occupation of the riverbed by a reservoir can impact freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity. We used the National Lake Assessment (134 reservoirs) and the National Rivers and Streams Assessment (2062 rivers and streams) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in order to develop empirical characterization factors (CFs; in Potentially Disappeared Fraction of species [PDF]) evaluating the impacts of reservoir occupation on macroinvertebrate richness (number of taxa) at the reservoir, ecoregion and country spatial scales, using a space-for-time substitution. We used analyses of variance, variation partitioning, and multiple regression analysis to explain the role of ecoregion (or regionalization; accounting for spatial variability) and other potentially influential variables (physical, chemical and human), on PDFs. At the United States scale, 28% of macroinvertebrate taxa disappeared during reservoir o...
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2006
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2010
Background, aim, and scope Task Force 3 of the UNEP/ SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has been working... more Background, aim, and scope Task Force 3 of the UNEP/ SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has been working towards developing scientifically sound methods for quantifying impacts of substances released into the environment. The Clearwater Consensus follows from the Lausanne (Jolliet et al. Int J Life Cycle Assess 11:209-212, 2006) and Apeldoorn (Apeldoorn Int J Life Cycle Assess 9(5):334, 2004) statements
Science of The Total Environment, 2010
In Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), normalization calculates the magnitude of an impact (midpoint or ... more In Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), normalization calculates the magnitude of an impact (midpoint or endpoint) relative to the total effect of a given reference. The goal of this work is to calculate normalization factors for Canada and the US and to compare them with existing European normalization factors. The differences between geographical areas were highlighted by identifying and comparing the main contributors to a given impact category in Canada, the US and Europe. This comparison verified that the main contributors in Europe and in the US are also present in the Canadian inventory. It also showed that normalized profiles are highly dependent on the selected reference due to differences in the industrial and economic activities. To meet practitioners' needs, Canadian normalization factors have been calculated using the characterization factors from LUCAS (Canadian), IMPACT 2002+ (European), and TRACI (US) respectively. The main sources of uncertainty related to Canadian NFs are data gaps (pesticides, metals) and aggregated data (metals, VOC), but the uncertainty related to CFs generally remains unknown. A final discussion is proposed based on the comparison of resource extraction and resource consumption and raises the question of the legitimacy of defining a country by its geographical borders.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2011
Purpose The aim of this paper is to provide science-based consensus and guidance for health effec... more Purpose The aim of this paper is to provide science-based consensus and guidance for health effects modelling in comparative assessments based on human exposure and toxicity. This aim is achieved by (a) describing the USEtox™ exposure and toxicity models representing consensus and recommended modelling practice, (b) identifying key mechanisms influencing human exposure and toxicity effects of chemical emissions, (c) extending substance coverage. Methods The methods section of this paper contains a detailed documentation of both the human exposure and toxic effects models of USEtox™, to determine impacts on human health per kilogram substance emitted in different compartments. These are considered as scientific consensus and therefore recommended practice for comparative toxic impact assessment. The framework of the exposure model is described in details including the modelling of each exposure pathway considered (i.e. inhalation through air, ingestion through (a) drinking water, (b) agricultural produce, (c) meat and milk, and (d) fish). The calculation of human health effect factors for cancer and non-cancer effects via ingestion and inhalation exposure respectively is described. This section also includes discussions regarding parameterisation and estimation of input data needed, including route-to-route and acute-to-chronic extrapolations. Results and discussion For most chemicals in USEtox™, inhalation, above-ground agricultural produce, and fish are the important exposure pathways with key driving factors being Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2011
Purpose The USEtox model was developed in a scientific consensus process involving comparison of ... more Purpose The USEtox model was developed in a scientific consensus process involving comparison of and harmonization between existing environmental multimedia fate models. USEtox quantitatively models the continuum from chemical emission to freshwater ecosystem toxicity via chemicalspecific characterization factors (CFs) for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). This work provides understanding of the key mechanisms and chemical parameters influencing fate in the environment and impact on aquatic ecosystems. Materials and method USEtox incorporates a matrix framework for multimedia modeling, allowing separation of fate, exposure, and ecotoxicity effects in the determi-nation of an overall CF. Current best practices, such as incorporation of intermittent rain and effect factors (EF) based on substance toxicity across species, are implemented in the model. The USEtox database provides a dataset of over 3,000 organic chemicals, of which approximately 2,500 have freshwater EFs. Freshwater characterization factors for these substances, with a special focus on a subset of chemicals with characteristic properties, were analyzed to understand the contributions of fate, exposure, and effect on the overall CFs. The approach was based on theoretical interpretation of the multimedia model components as well as multidimensional graphical analysis.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2003
results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g.... more results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g. climate change) or commonly accepted grouping (e.g. ecotoxicity). b) Damage oriented methods such as Eco-indicator 99 (Goedkoop and Spriensma 2000) or EPS (Steen 1999), which try to model the cause-effect chain up to the endpoint, or damage, sometimes with high uncertainties.
Environmental science & technology, Jan 23, 2015
Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving increasing interest in Life Cycle ... more Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving increasing interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). We address this issue by incorporating an indoor compartment into the USEtox model, as well as by providing recommended parameter values for households in four different regions of the world differing geographically, economically, and socially. With these parameter values, intake fractions and comparative toxicity potentials for indoor emissions of dwellings for different air tightness levels were calculated. The resulting intake fractions for indoor exposure vary by 2 orders of magnitude, due to the variability of ventilation rate, building occupation, and volume. To compare health impacts as a result of indoor exposure with those from outdoor exposure, the indoor exposure characterization factors determined with the modified USEtox model were applied in a case study on cooking in non-OECD countries. This study demonstrates the appropriateness and significance of integ...
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2003
results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g.... more results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g. climate change) or commonly accepted grouping (e.g. ecotoxicity). b) Damage oriented methods such as Eco-indicator 99 (Goedkoop and Spriensma 2000) or EPS (Steen 1999), which try to model the cause-effect chain up to the endpoint, or damage, sometimes with high uncertainties.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2001
Preamble This conference attracted approximately 270 participants in order to define and discuss ... more Preamble This conference attracted approximately 270 participants in order to define and discuss Life Cycle Management (LCM), as well as its historical basis and relationships to other systemic approaches such as industrial ecology. Applications were integrated across all subthemes of the event. Plenary lectures were held on the first and third days of the conference with three parallel sessions on
Environmental Science & Technology, 2015
indicators
The project Assessment of use and depletion of water resources within the LCA framework was est... more The project Assessment of use and depletion of water resources within the LCA framework was established under the auspices of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative (Phase 2). It aims at developing an operational framework for implementing freshwater resource ...
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting ... more Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting concept is still ongoing, and a limited number of case studies have been published presenting a comprehensive study of all water-related impacts. Although industries are increasingly interested in assessing their water footprint beyond a simple inventory assessment, they often lack guidance regarding the applicability and interpretation of the different methods available. This paper aims to illustrate how different water-related methods can be applied within a water footprint study of a laundry detergent and discuss their applicability. Methods The concept of water footprinting, as defined by the recently published ISO Standard (ISO 2014), is illustrated through the case study of a load of laundry using water availability and water degradation impact categories. At the midpoint, it covers scarcity, availability, and pollution indicators such as eutrophication, acidification, human, and eco-toxicity. At the endpoint, impacts on human health and ecosystems are covered for water deprivation and degradation. Sensitivity
Environmental Science & Technology, 2015
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting ... more Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting concept is still ongoing, and a limited number of case studies have been published presenting a comprehensive study of all water-related impacts. Although industries are increasingly interested in assessing their water footprint beyond a simple inventory assessment, they often lack guidance regarding the applicability and interpretation of the different methods available. This paper aims to illustrate how different water-related methods can be applied within a water footprint study of a laundry detergent and discuss their applicability. Methods The concept of water footprinting, as defined by the recently published ISO Standard (ISO 2014), is illustrated through the case study of a load of laundry using water availability and water degradation impact categories. At the midpoint, it covers scarcity, availability, and pollution indicators such as eutrophication, acidification, human, and eco-toxicity. At the endpoint, impacts on human health and ecosystems are covered for water deprivation and degradation. Sensitivity
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
ABSTRACT Purpose Characterization factors (CFs) quantifying the potential impact of acidifying em... more ABSTRACT Purpose Characterization factors (CFs) quantifying the potential impact of acidifying emissions on inland aquatic environments in life cycle assessment are typically available on a generic level. The lack of spatial differentiation may weaken the relevance of generic CFs since it was shown that regional impact categories such as aquatic acidification were influenced by the surroundings of the emission location. This paper presents a novel approach for the development of spatially differentiated CFs at a global scale for the aquatic acidification impact category. Methods CFs were defined as the change in relative decrease of lake fish species richness due to a change in acidifying chemicals emissions. The characterization model includes the modelling steps linking emission to atmospheric acid deposition (atmospheric fate factor) change, which lead to lake H+ concentration (receiving environment fate factor) change and a decrease in relative fish species richness (effect factor). We also evaluated the significance of each factor (i.e. atmospheric fate, receiving environment fate and effects) to the overall CFs spatial variability and parameter uncertainty. Results and discussion The highest CFs were found for emissions occurring in Canada, Scandinavia and the northern central Asia because of the extensive lake areas in these regions (lake areas being one of the parameters of the CFs; the bigger the lake areas, the higher the CFs). The CFs’ spatial variability ranged over 5, 6 and 8 orders of magnitude for NOx, SO2 and NH3 emissions, respectively. We found that the aquatic receiving environment fate factor is the dominant contributor to the overall spatial variability of the CFs, while the effect factors contributed to 98 % of the total parameter uncertainty. Conclusions The resulting characterization model and factors enable a consistent evaluation of spatially explicit acidifying emissions impacts at the global scale.
Atmospheric Environment, 2012
h i g h l i g h t s < We provide an approach to estimate regional fate factors at a global scale.... more h i g h l i g h t s < We provide an approach to estimate regional fate factors at a global scale. < Transboundary impacts can now be evaluated in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). < We favorably compared the approach results with direct GEOS-Chem outputs. < The uncertainties and limitations of the approach are acceptable for LCIA purposes.
Risk Analysis, 2001
The Energy Citations Database (ECD) provides access to historical and current research (1948 to t... more The Energy Citations Database (ECD) provides access to historical and current research (1948 to the present) from the Department of Energy (DOE) and predecessor agencies.
Sustainability
The transformation of a river into a reservoir and the subsequent occupation of the riverbed by a... more The transformation of a river into a reservoir and the subsequent occupation of the riverbed by a reservoir can impact freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity. We used the National Lake Assessment (134 reservoirs) and the National Rivers and Streams Assessment (2062 rivers and streams) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in order to develop empirical characterization factors (CFs; in Potentially Disappeared Fraction of species [PDF]) evaluating the impacts of reservoir occupation on macroinvertebrate richness (number of taxa) at the reservoir, ecoregion and country spatial scales, using a space-for-time substitution. We used analyses of variance, variation partitioning, and multiple regression analysis to explain the role of ecoregion (or regionalization; accounting for spatial variability) and other potentially influential variables (physical, chemical and human), on PDFs. At the United States scale, 28% of macroinvertebrate taxa disappeared during reservoir o...
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2006
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2010
Background, aim, and scope Task Force 3 of the UNEP/ SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has been working... more Background, aim, and scope Task Force 3 of the UNEP/ SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has been working towards developing scientifically sound methods for quantifying impacts of substances released into the environment. The Clearwater Consensus follows from the Lausanne (Jolliet et al. Int J Life Cycle Assess 11:209-212, 2006) and Apeldoorn (Apeldoorn Int J Life Cycle Assess 9(5):334, 2004) statements
Science of The Total Environment, 2010
In Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), normalization calculates the magnitude of an impact (midpoint or ... more In Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), normalization calculates the magnitude of an impact (midpoint or endpoint) relative to the total effect of a given reference. The goal of this work is to calculate normalization factors for Canada and the US and to compare them with existing European normalization factors. The differences between geographical areas were highlighted by identifying and comparing the main contributors to a given impact category in Canada, the US and Europe. This comparison verified that the main contributors in Europe and in the US are also present in the Canadian inventory. It also showed that normalized profiles are highly dependent on the selected reference due to differences in the industrial and economic activities. To meet practitioners' needs, Canadian normalization factors have been calculated using the characterization factors from LUCAS (Canadian), IMPACT 2002+ (European), and TRACI (US) respectively. The main sources of uncertainty related to Canadian NFs are data gaps (pesticides, metals) and aggregated data (metals, VOC), but the uncertainty related to CFs generally remains unknown. A final discussion is proposed based on the comparison of resource extraction and resource consumption and raises the question of the legitimacy of defining a country by its geographical borders.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2011
Purpose The aim of this paper is to provide science-based consensus and guidance for health effec... more Purpose The aim of this paper is to provide science-based consensus and guidance for health effects modelling in comparative assessments based on human exposure and toxicity. This aim is achieved by (a) describing the USEtox™ exposure and toxicity models representing consensus and recommended modelling practice, (b) identifying key mechanisms influencing human exposure and toxicity effects of chemical emissions, (c) extending substance coverage. Methods The methods section of this paper contains a detailed documentation of both the human exposure and toxic effects models of USEtox™, to determine impacts on human health per kilogram substance emitted in different compartments. These are considered as scientific consensus and therefore recommended practice for comparative toxic impact assessment. The framework of the exposure model is described in details including the modelling of each exposure pathway considered (i.e. inhalation through air, ingestion through (a) drinking water, (b) agricultural produce, (c) meat and milk, and (d) fish). The calculation of human health effect factors for cancer and non-cancer effects via ingestion and inhalation exposure respectively is described. This section also includes discussions regarding parameterisation and estimation of input data needed, including route-to-route and acute-to-chronic extrapolations. Results and discussion For most chemicals in USEtox™, inhalation, above-ground agricultural produce, and fish are the important exposure pathways with key driving factors being Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2011
Purpose The USEtox model was developed in a scientific consensus process involving comparison of ... more Purpose The USEtox model was developed in a scientific consensus process involving comparison of and harmonization between existing environmental multimedia fate models. USEtox quantitatively models the continuum from chemical emission to freshwater ecosystem toxicity via chemicalspecific characterization factors (CFs) for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). This work provides understanding of the key mechanisms and chemical parameters influencing fate in the environment and impact on aquatic ecosystems. Materials and method USEtox incorporates a matrix framework for multimedia modeling, allowing separation of fate, exposure, and ecotoxicity effects in the determi-nation of an overall CF. Current best practices, such as incorporation of intermittent rain and effect factors (EF) based on substance toxicity across species, are implemented in the model. The USEtox database provides a dataset of over 3,000 organic chemicals, of which approximately 2,500 have freshwater EFs. Freshwater characterization factors for these substances, with a special focus on a subset of chemicals with characteristic properties, were analyzed to understand the contributions of fate, exposure, and effect on the overall CFs. The approach was based on theoretical interpretation of the multimedia model components as well as multidimensional graphical analysis.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2003
results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g.... more results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g. climate change) or commonly accepted grouping (e.g. ecotoxicity). b) Damage oriented methods such as Eco-indicator 99 (Goedkoop and Spriensma 2000) or EPS (Steen 1999), which try to model the cause-effect chain up to the endpoint, or damage, sometimes with high uncertainties.
Environmental science & technology, Jan 23, 2015
Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving increasing interest in Life Cycle ... more Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving increasing interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). We address this issue by incorporating an indoor compartment into the USEtox model, as well as by providing recommended parameter values for households in four different regions of the world differing geographically, economically, and socially. With these parameter values, intake fractions and comparative toxicity potentials for indoor emissions of dwellings for different air tightness levels were calculated. The resulting intake fractions for indoor exposure vary by 2 orders of magnitude, due to the variability of ventilation rate, building occupation, and volume. To compare health impacts as a result of indoor exposure with those from outdoor exposure, the indoor exposure characterization factors determined with the modified USEtox model were applied in a case study on cooking in non-OECD countries. This study demonstrates the appropriateness and significance of integ...
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2003
results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g.... more results in so-called midpoint categories, according to themes. Themes are common mechanisms (e.g. climate change) or commonly accepted grouping (e.g. ecotoxicity). b) Damage oriented methods such as Eco-indicator 99 (Goedkoop and Spriensma 2000) or EPS (Steen 1999), which try to model the cause-effect chain up to the endpoint, or damage, sometimes with high uncertainties.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2001
Preamble This conference attracted approximately 270 participants in order to define and discuss ... more Preamble This conference attracted approximately 270 participants in order to define and discuss Life Cycle Management (LCM), as well as its historical basis and relationships to other systemic approaches such as industrial ecology. Applications were integrated across all subthemes of the event. Plenary lectures were held on the first and third days of the conference with three parallel sessions on
Environmental Science & Technology, 2015
indicators
The project Assessment of use and depletion of water resources within the LCA framework was est... more The project Assessment of use and depletion of water resources within the LCA framework was established under the auspices of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative (Phase 2). It aims at developing an operational framework for implementing freshwater resource ...
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting ... more Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting concept is still ongoing, and a limited number of case studies have been published presenting a comprehensive study of all water-related impacts. Although industries are increasingly interested in assessing their water footprint beyond a simple inventory assessment, they often lack guidance regarding the applicability and interpretation of the different methods available. This paper aims to illustrate how different water-related methods can be applied within a water footprint study of a laundry detergent and discuss their applicability. Methods The concept of water footprinting, as defined by the recently published ISO Standard (ISO 2014), is illustrated through the case study of a load of laundry using water availability and water degradation impact categories. At the midpoint, it covers scarcity, availability, and pollution indicators such as eutrophication, acidification, human, and eco-toxicity. At the endpoint, impacts on human health and ecosystems are covered for water deprivation and degradation. Sensitivity
Environmental Science & Technology, 2015
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting ... more Purpose The integration of different water impact assessment methods within a water footprinting concept is still ongoing, and a limited number of case studies have been published presenting a comprehensive study of all water-related impacts. Although industries are increasingly interested in assessing their water footprint beyond a simple inventory assessment, they often lack guidance regarding the applicability and interpretation of the different methods available. This paper aims to illustrate how different water-related methods can be applied within a water footprint study of a laundry detergent and discuss their applicability. Methods The concept of water footprinting, as defined by the recently published ISO Standard (ISO 2014), is illustrated through the case study of a load of laundry using water availability and water degradation impact categories. At the midpoint, it covers scarcity, availability, and pollution indicators such as eutrophication, acidification, human, and eco-toxicity. At the endpoint, impacts on human health and ecosystems are covered for water deprivation and degradation. Sensitivity
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2014
ABSTRACT Purpose Characterization factors (CFs) quantifying the potential impact of acidifying em... more ABSTRACT Purpose Characterization factors (CFs) quantifying the potential impact of acidifying emissions on inland aquatic environments in life cycle assessment are typically available on a generic level. The lack of spatial differentiation may weaken the relevance of generic CFs since it was shown that regional impact categories such as aquatic acidification were influenced by the surroundings of the emission location. This paper presents a novel approach for the development of spatially differentiated CFs at a global scale for the aquatic acidification impact category. Methods CFs were defined as the change in relative decrease of lake fish species richness due to a change in acidifying chemicals emissions. The characterization model includes the modelling steps linking emission to atmospheric acid deposition (atmospheric fate factor) change, which lead to lake H+ concentration (receiving environment fate factor) change and a decrease in relative fish species richness (effect factor). We also evaluated the significance of each factor (i.e. atmospheric fate, receiving environment fate and effects) to the overall CFs spatial variability and parameter uncertainty. Results and discussion The highest CFs were found for emissions occurring in Canada, Scandinavia and the northern central Asia because of the extensive lake areas in these regions (lake areas being one of the parameters of the CFs; the bigger the lake areas, the higher the CFs). The CFs’ spatial variability ranged over 5, 6 and 8 orders of magnitude for NOx, SO2 and NH3 emissions, respectively. We found that the aquatic receiving environment fate factor is the dominant contributor to the overall spatial variability of the CFs, while the effect factors contributed to 98 % of the total parameter uncertainty. Conclusions The resulting characterization model and factors enable a consistent evaluation of spatially explicit acidifying emissions impacts at the global scale.
Atmospheric Environment, 2012
h i g h l i g h t s < We provide an approach to estimate regional fate factors at a global scale.... more h i g h l i g h t s < We provide an approach to estimate regional fate factors at a global scale. < Transboundary impacts can now be evaluated in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). < We favorably compared the approach results with direct GEOS-Chem outputs. < The uncertainties and limitations of the approach are acceptable for LCIA purposes.
Risk Analysis, 2001
The Energy Citations Database (ECD) provides access to historical and current research (1948 to t... more The Energy Citations Database (ECD) provides access to historical and current research (1948 to the present) from the Department of Energy (DOE) and predecessor agencies.