Assessing the Environmental Impact of the Production of Concrete Pavers by the use of LCA, in Arid Region Cities of Argentina

ERICA CORREA; A.PABLO ARENA; CARLOS DE ROSA

Santiago, Chile

Conferencia; PLEA 2003. The 20th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture; 2003

“Maintenance and renovation of existing urban infrastructures and their constant expansion, are processes in continuous development, which damage the environment locally, regionally and globally; it is therefore imperative to incorporate, without delay, sustainability criteria to their development, with the aim of minimizing negative impacts  on the ecosystems, optimizing the use of resources and extending the benefits to an acceptable urban life quality for the less favoured population groups. The construction of pedestrian and vehicular circulation networks involves the use of materials of high energetic cost and high environmental impact, such as cement and asphalt which consume great quantities of non renewable resources along their productive processes. In the context of concrete blocks  (pavers), an excellent alternative is at hand, from the environmental viewpoint, due to their simple manufacturing and laying in place and the possibility of reuse, which do not involve additional operations for their recovery. The aim of the study is the calculation of the amount of emissions and resource consumption inventory involved in the production of 1 m2 of concrete pavers (Holland type 10x 20x 6 cm) extensively used in the region. This information will be used as a tool for aiding in the decision making process, when different pavement materials are to be considered for the design of new circulation networks with minor environmental impact at the regional scale. For the assessment of the environmental profile of the technology, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was used. This methodology involves the calculation of emissions generated and resources consumed along the life cycle of the infrastructure components, from the extraction of the material from a quarry, its transport, industrial processing, use and final disposal. To quantify the impacts the method proposed by the IPCC (Intergoverment Panel on Climatic Change) and the EMEP/CORINAIR (Atmospheric Emission Inventory Guidebook) were used”. Keywords:  urban sustainability, life cycle assessment, concrete block pavers.