Wire and Cable Insulation and Jacketing: Life-Cycle Assessments for Selected Applications. 2008.
This life-cycle assessment (LCA) evaluated the potential health and environmental impacts of the jacketing and insulation of selected telecommunications and low-power voltage cables as alternatives to lead-stabilized cables. LCAs, which are generally global and non-site specific in scope, look at the full life cycle of the product being evaluated, from materials acquisition to manufacturing, use, and end-of-life (i.e., final disposition). This LCA assessed impacts related to material consumption, energy use, air resources, water resources, landfills, human toxicity, and ecological toxicity. The following cables were evaluated: Category 6 telecommunication cable (e.g., Ethernet cables) in riser (vertical) spaces ("CMR cable") and plenum (horizontal) spaces ("CMP cable"), and non-metallic sheathed low voltage power cables ("NM-B cable").
Author: E. Harriman