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APPLICATION OF REACH REGULATION AND LCA STANDARD IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

Andrzej Harat

Abstract

The article presents practical problems related to the application of REACH and LCA standards in the construction sector. Chemicals are an essential factor in assessing and managing of all kinds of risk due to their importance as components of materials and their various effects, such as: adverse and beneficial, biophysical and socio-economic. The process of reducing of adverse environmental impact of construction sector on the environment is a subject of increasing attention of scientists and companies. It should be assumed that elements of LCA standard as well as REACH regulation can provide a great results in the general evaluation of constructions sector environmental impact. The above mentioned norms have a different legal nature. REACH is a regulation established by European Parliament and EU Council. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is regulated by ISO 14040 standard. The last mentioned refers to the entire product life cycle, while REACH is a formalized regulation, which defines precise properties that have to be observed by manufactures, importers and so-called further users. Analyzes presented in this paper allow to draw a conclusion, that the chemicals classification criteria included in REACH regulation are insufficient for comprehensive analyzes of adverse environmental impact of a substance (preparation or product) and in consequence should be supplemented by LCA analyze.

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