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NAPA Economic Study Finds Flaws in Material-Specific Discount Rates LCCA Proposal |
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The National Asphalt Pavement Association has released a report on life-cycle cost analysis procedures which examines in depth the concept of the material-specific discount rate. "Material-Specific Discount Rate: Inappropriate for Life-Cycle Cost Analysis" (NAPA Special Report 203) outlines standard and customary life-cycle cost analysis models. It also shines a light on a “material-specific discount rate,” which is being promoted by the cement and concrete industries.
NAPA’s report reveals that the material-specific discount rate is not a concept economists use or accept. Instead, it was suggested in a 2011 report as a computational work-around by the Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSH). The CSH, located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is funded by the Portland Cement Association and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.
The CSH report is being used to support legislation in Congress mandating the use of a material-specific discount rate in life-cycle cost analyses when comparing alternative designs for publicly funded projects, including pavements, bridges, and buildings. If adopted, a material-specific discount rate could skew life-cycle cost analyses for construction materials, including asphalt, concrete, steel, wood, and plastics.
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New FHWA Survey Finds Asphalt Recycling Reaches 99 Percent; Warm Mix Usage Skyrockets |
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Asphalt pavement is not only America’s most recycled and reused material, it now is being recycled and reused at a rate over 99 percent. Use of environmentally friendly warm-mix asphalt grew by more than 148 percent from 2009 to 2010, a trend that is expected to continue. Recycling of asphalt pavements and asphalt shingles in 2010 alone conserved 20.5 million barrels of asphalt binder.
These are some of the key findings in a new survey of asphalt pavement usage, which NAPA completed under contract to the Federal Highway Administration. The report, titled Asphalt Pavement Mix Production Survey: 2009-2010 (NAPA Information Series 138), is available as a free download. The survey examined the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), recycled asphalt shingles (RAS), and warm-mix asphalt (WMA) in 2009 and 2010. RAP, RAS, and WMA conserve raw materials; conserve energy; cut emissions from production and paving operations; and improve conditions for workers.
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IARC Issues Health Classification for Occupational Exposures during Road Paving |
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The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), based in Lyon, France, issued a statement today assigning occupational exposures to straight-run asphalt cement and its emissions during road paving a Group 2B (“possibly carcinogenic to humans”) classification. This Group 2B classification puts road paving in the same category as numerous exposures, including cell phones and coffee.
NAPA President Mike Acott responded to the IARC announcement saying, “The asphalt paving industry has always taken questions about workers’ health and safety seriously. That’s why we appreciate IARC’s commitment to creating the healthiest possible workplace through its scientific review process.”
Dr. Jim Melius, DrPH, MD, the top occupational physician at the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), commented, “People working in the asphalt paving industry should not be concerned about this new IARC classification. The two key animal studies on paving asphalt did not show any evidence of cancer risk, and the major IARC cancer study of people working in the paving industry in Europe did not show any increased risk for cancer.”
Acott added, “For more than 20 years, we have partnered on research with government agencies, academic institutions, and unions. Our goals have been, first and foremost, to protect the workers by reducing their exposure; and while we are doing that, to cooperate in research that will fill the gaps in the science.
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