On the indiscriminate use of imported emission factors in environmental impact assessment: A case study in Chile

Journal Article · Mon May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Environmental Impact Assessment Review

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EIAR.2017.03.006· OSTI ID:22688008

Bernal, María Fernanda ^[1]; Oyarzún, Jorge ^[2]; Oyarzún, Ricardo ^[2]

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1. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de La Serena (Chile)
2. Department of Mining Engineering, Universidad de La Serena (Chile)

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) aims to determine if the environmental effect of an activity or project complies with standards and regulations. A primary component of the environment to evaluate is air and the effect that various activities can have on its quality. To this end, emission factors (EFs), which are empirical coefficients or mathematical relationships, are normally used. The present research critically analyzes the implications and consequences of using imported EFs in environmental impact studies (EISs), taking as case of study the situation in Chile. Among the main results, the widespread use of EFs in EISs in the country and the lack of assessments of their actual applicability stand out. In addition, the official guidelines related to emissions estimation that are used for EIA in the country mostly include EFs derived elsewhere, without considering the recommendations or restrictions that the original sources indicate for their use. Finally, the broad use of default values defined for the Metropolitan Region in Central Chile, is highly questionable for a country that extends north-south along more than 35° of latitude, with wide variability in climate, traffic conditions, population, soil types, etc. Finally, it is very likely that situations similar to those observed in the present work occurs in other countries with young environmental impact assessment systems, and therefore, that the results herein presented should be of general interest and relevance. - Highlights: • Emission factors are widely used in environmental impact assessment in Chile. • There is a lack of a proper understanding of the limitations of EFs for EIA. • Imported emission factors use requires caution and full understanding. • Misuse of foreign EFs may have serious environmental and economic consequences.

• OSTI ID: 22688008
• Journal Information: Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Vol. 64; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0195-9255
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR QUALITY
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS