ABSTRACT
This work sets out to study the economical and environmental viability of the use of stainless steel reinforcement in structures subjected to aggressive environments like wastewater.
1.3 LCA methodology
LCA is a scientific way of studying environmental impacts whose methodology is described by the international standards ISO 14040 to 14043. In particular, LCA is a process for evaluating the environmental burdens associated with a product or system. This assessment includes identifying and describing quantitatively or qualitatively the wastes released into the environment, the energy and material consumption, and the impact of these items on the environment along the entire lifecycle of the product or activity. Environmental impact categories considered are: greenhouse effect, acidification, eutrophication, summer smog and heavy metals. Global impact is weighed by the Eco-Indicator 95 which scores each different impact category depending on their particular effects on present environmental situation.
