What Is EPA's Design for the
Environment Program?
EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE)
Program forms partnerships to reduce risk
to people and the environment through
pollution prevention. DfE offers unique
technical tools, methodologies, and
expertise to evaluate the health and
environmental risks or life-cycle impacts of
traditional and alternative technologies,
materials, and processes. DfE has formed
several partnerships with the electronics
industry, including:
• Assessing the life-cycle impacts of tin-lead
solder and lead-free alternatives
• Assessing the life-cycle impacts of computer
displays (cathode ray tubes and flat-panels)
• Evaluating lead-free surface finishes and
cleaner technologies
for making holes
conductive in printed
wiring board
manufacturing
U.S.EFA
WhatisTURI?
The Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TUR1) at
the University of Massachusetts Lowell helps
industries, institutions, and communities
implement toxics use reduction as a means
of achieving both a cleaner environment
and a healthy economy. TUR1 began
working on the Wire and Cable (W&C)
Supply Chain Initiative in early 2001, with
the goals of looking at alternatives to toxic
chemicals used in the sector and assisting
W&C manufacturers in the region in
meeting customer and
global restrictions on
the use of certain toxic
chemicals.
Wire & Cable Partnership
Assessing Life-Cycle
Impacts in the Wire &
Cable Industry
What Are the Partnership's Goals?
EPA's Design for the Environment (DfE) Program and
the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute
(TUR1) have formed a partnership with industry
stakeholders to generate information on the
environmental impacts of traditional and alternative
cable construction. The goal is to help companies
make environmentally sound product and material choices.
When completed it is expected that the LCA results can be used by the
wire and cable industry to select material formulations that work well
for a given application and that may have fewer impacts on public
health and the environment. The LCA will also identify opportunities
for improvement, by highlighting the greatest impact areas of a given
product, as well as areas that need further investigation.
Project partners include wire and cable manufacturers, additive
suppliers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), trade association
members (National Electrical Manufacturers Association and the Vinyl
Institute of the American Plastics Council), TUR1, and EPA. The current
list of active industry partners includes Albemarle, AlphaGary, Belden
CDT, Cable Components Group, CommScope, Crompton Corporation,
Daikin America, DuPont, General Cable, Georgia Gulf, Judd Wire,
Rockwell Collins, SGS U.S. Testing Company, Southwire, Superior
Essex, Teknor Apex, Underwriter's Laboratories, United Copper
Industries, and Zion Polycom.
The specific goal of the partnership is to evaluate the environmental
impacts of the current standard material formulation and the
alternative formulations for heat stabilizer, flame retardant, and
polymer systems for selected wire and cable products, in order to
determine whether the alternatives present an environmentally
preferable option.
The partnership will first develop partial life-cycle inventories through
the manufacturing stage (cradle-to-gate) of standard and alternative
formulations for three selected wire and cable products (Phase 1), and
then assess the full environmental life-cycle impacts of the standard
and alternative formulations for one or more of these wire and cable
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products (Phase 11). Partial life-cycle inventories (LCI) will
be developed in Phase 1 for the following product types:
• Category 6, riser-rated communication cable (CMR);
• Category 6, plenum-rated communication cable
(CMP); and
• Non-metallic sheathed cable, as used in building wire
(NM-B).
These products were chosen by the project partners
because together they contain materials common to many
wire and cable applications, they typically contain
materials for which alternatives are being sought, and they
represent a significant share of the wire and cable market.
Using a life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach, the study will
generate data to help manufacturers, users, and
suppliers of wire and cable incorporate environmental
considerations into their decision-making processes.
An LCA examines the full life cycle of a product, and
estimates environmental impacts from each of the
following life-cycle stages:
• Raw material extraction or acquisition and material
processing;
• Product manufacture;
• Product use/maintenance; and
• End-of-life disposition.
Why is the Partnership Evaluating Wire & Cable?
The wire and cable industry manufactures a wide range of
products that support a multitude of applications. The
total amount of U.S shipments of copper-insulated wire
and cable were estimated in 2004 to be 2.4 billion pounds
and $9 billion dollars in sales. Key functional components
of wire and cable products include heat stabilizers, which
may contain lead, flame retardants, and polymer systems
used in insulation and jacketing. These materials and other
ingredients impart electrical insulation, physical stability,
and fire performance properties, but have been identified
as materials of potential environmental concern or as
materials for which industry stakeholders have expressed a
desire to identify and evaluate alternatives. In some
applications, lead and other heavy metals have been
removed from cable constructions, while other
applications continue to use these materials. European
legislation, for example, has driven these changes for
electronics and automotive applications; however, similar
changes have not been made for other applications (e.g.,
telecom, building wire) where such drivers are not present.
In some applications, alternative materials are available but
have not been widely used, either due to a lack of
market drivers, cost, or their inability to meet all of the
requirements of the more demanding applications.
More information is available on some wire and cable
materials than others. Much is known about lead, a toxic
chemical that can be released into the air and
groundwater during processes such as mining, use, waste
treatment, and disposal. Once in the environment, lead is
persistent (as are all metals), and it bioaccumulates in the
food chain. PVC is a commonly used polymer in wire and
cable products. Substantial research has been conducted
on PVC and its life-cycle impacts; however, very little of
the work has focused specifically on its use in wire and
cable applications. In addition, there is information
available for the production of low-density polyethylene,
an alternative jacketing material, but no studies detailing
its life cycle impacts in wire and cable have been
performed. Little to no life-cycle information is available
for cross-linked polyethylene or fluorinated ethylene
propylene, which are also used in cable formulations.
Researchers continue to examine whether or not deca-BDE
debrominates into persistent and bioaccumulative lower-
congener compounds such as penta-BDE. Comprehensive
information about life-cycle impacts and risks of both the
traditional and alternative materials is needed to assist the
wire and cable industry in identifying formulations that
are environmentally preferable, while still meeting cost
and performance goals.
What are the Project Milestones?
Key milestones in the DfE/TURl Wire & Cable Partnership
include:
• Partnership formation: March 2004
• Phase 1 draft Life-Cycle Inventory: December 2005
• Phase II draft Life-Cycle Impact Assessment: June
2006
• Draft final LCA report: February 2007
• Publicize results: June 2007
How Can I Get More Information?
To learn more about the DfE Program or the Wire &
Cable Partnership, or to obtain an electronic version of
this fact sheet (document #EPA 744-F-05-004), visit the
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics' DfE Program
Web site: www.epa.gov/dfe.
To obtain hard copies of DfE Program technical reports,
pollution prevention case studies, and project
summaries, contact:
National Service Center for Environmental Publications
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Phone: (513) 489-8190, (800) 490-9198
Fax: (513) 489-8695
E-mail: ncepimal@one.net
EPA 744-F-05-004
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