<div class="csl-bib-body">
<div class="csl-entry">Kral, U. (2014). <i>A new indicator for the assessment of anthropogenic substance flows to regional sinks</i> [Dissertation, Technische Universität Wien]. reposiTUm. https://doi.org/10.34726/hss.2014.24586</div>
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dc.identifier.uri
https://doi.org/10.34726/hss.2014.24586
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dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12708/2620
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dc.description
Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des Verfassers
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dc.description.abstract
Satisfying human needs requires an anthropogenic material turnover. After utilization, materials either remain in the anthroposphere in terms of recycling products, or they leave the anthroposphere in terms of waste and emission flows. The last two enter downstream sinks, man-made and natural ones. The problem is that material flows to natural sinks may cause risks for human and environmental health. To avoid overloading, several assessment frameworks have been put forward. In an economy-wide perspective, a single score indicator focusing on substances that leave the anthroposphere to regional sinks is missing. To overcome this gap, the thesis aims to develop a new indicator and to compute the score for selected case studies. To achieve these goals, four steps are needed. First, the indicator is defined as the environmentally acceptable mass share of a substance in material flows that leave the anthroposphere to downstream sinks. The resulting score ranges between 0% as worst case and 100% as best case. Second, a methodology to determine the indicator components is presented, including (i) inventories based on substance flow analysis, and (ii) impact assessment based on a distance-to-target approach. Third, the framework developed is applied in three case studies including copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) on an urban scale (City of Vienna) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) on a national scale (Switzerland). Fourth, recommendations are given for increasing the indicator score by means of sink load reduction or enhancement of sink capacities. The following results are obtained: In Vienna, 99% of Cu mass flows to regional sinks are acceptable. However, the 0.7% of Cu entering urban soils and the 0.3% entering receiving waters surpass acceptable levels. In the case of Pb, 92% of all mass flows to sinks prove to be acceptable, and 8% are disposed of in local landfills with limited capacity. For PFOS, 96% of all flows to sinks are acceptable. 4% cannot be evaluated due to a lack of quality criteria, despite posing a risk for human health and the environment. The examples demonstrate the need for: (i) enhanced regional landfill capacities or increased recycling rates, (ii) regional standards for assessing substance flows to urban soils and receiving waters, (iii) appropriate data of good quality, and (iv) the extension of the methodology to include exports to sinks in the hinterland. The new indicator is of relevance for managing wastes and emissions because it identifies substance flows to sinks that observe or neglect quality criteria, or that cannot be assessed due to missing knowledge. Moreover, it serves for monitoring the performance of waste and environmental management within a region, and for comparing the performance with other regions. For strategic decisions such as design and evaluation of policies, the indicator allows an examination of the effectiveness of directing substance flows to appropriate sinks. Finally, the indicator aggregates complex information into an easy to understand score and is therefore highly instrumental for communicating scientific research to decision makers and the public.
en
dc.language
English
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dc.language.iso
en
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dc.rights.uri
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
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dc.subject
Umweltschutz
de
dc.subject
Letzte Senke
de
dc.subject
MFA
de
dc.subject
Schadstoffe
de
dc.subject
Indikator
de
dc.subject
Metrik
de
dc.subject
environmental protection
en
dc.subject
final sink
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dc.subject
MFA
en
dc.subject
pollutant
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dc.subject
indicator
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dc.subject
metric
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dc.title
A new indicator for the assessment of anthropogenic substance flows to regional sinks
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dc.title.alternative
Ein neuer Indikator zur Bewertung von anthropogenen Stoffflüssen in regionale Senken
de
dc.title.alternative
Indicator for assessing substance flows to sinks
de
dc.type
Thesis
en
dc.type
Hochschulschrift
de
dc.rights.license
In Copyright
en
dc.rights.license
Urheberrechtsschutz
de
dc.identifier.doi
10.34726/hss.2014.24586
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dc.contributor.affiliation
TU Wien, Österreich
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dc.rights.holder
Ulrich Kral
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tuw.version
vor
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tuw.thesisinformation
Technische Universität Wien
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tuw.publication.orgunit
E226 - Institut für Wassergüte, Ressourcenmanagement und Abfallwirtschaft
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dc.type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral
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dc.identifier.libraryid
AC11741077
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dc.description.numberOfPages
71
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dc.identifier.urn
urn:nbn:at:at-ubtuw:1-65032
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dc.thesistype
Dissertation
de
dc.thesistype
Dissertation
en
tuw.author.orcid
0000-0002-2848-1673
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dc.rights.identifier
In Copyright
en
dc.rights.identifier
Urheberrechtsschutz
de
tuw.advisor.staffStatus
staff
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item.fulltext
with Fulltext
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item.cerifentitytype
Publications
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item.mimetype
application/pdf
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item.openairecristype
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06
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item.languageiso639-1
en
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item.openaccessfulltext
Open Access
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item.openairetype
doctoral thesis
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item.grantfulltext
open
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crisitem.author.dept
E226-02 - Forschungsbereich Abfallwirtschaft und Ressourcenmanagement
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crisitem.author.orcid
0000-0002-2848-1673
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crisitem.author.parentorg
E226 - Institut für Wassergüte und Ressourcenmanagement