Assessing environmental sustainability using FLAG: A case study of a novel semiconductor material critical to emerging energy technologies

hemond铟是一种重要的金属，将通过实施FLAG（使用地球化学进行生命周期评估框架）的方法进行评估。FLAG方法通过在地球化学循环的背景下评估工业生命周期，扩展了生命周期评估（LCA）。FLAG的特点是：1)人为通量与自然通量的比较；2)全球、区域和地方尺度的明确研究；3)物理和化学形态的表征；4)认识到主要开采金属和副产品金属之间的区别。FLAG被提议用于产品开发，作为一种“预警系统”，当预计的人为通量与自然通量相匹敌或超过自然通量时，将潜在有害元素标记为优先研究。铟在新型高效光伏器件、发光二极管（led）和氧化铟锡（ITO）电涂层中具有特别重要的意义，之所以选择铟作为研究对象，是因为人们对其环境循环了解甚少，毒性已被提出，而且其工业用途正呈指数级增长。铟的自然通量和工业通量将在全球、区域和地方尺度上确定。该项目的教育和推广部分包括：1)研究生和本科生参与研究；2)为马萨诸塞州剑桥市一年一度的科学节举办金属自行车展，并为剑桥夏日桥课外项目的6 -8年级学生举办五节科学课；3)与矿业和半导体行业的个人合作。

0853866HemondIndium, an important metal, will be assessed by implementing an approach termed FLAG (Framework for Life-Cycle Assessment Using Geochemistry). The FLAG approach expands on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by assessing industrial life cycles in the context of geochemical cycles. Features of FLAG are: 1) comparison of anthropogenic and natural fluxes; 2) explicit study of global, regional, and local scales; 3) characterization of physical and chemical forms; and 4) recognition of a distinction between primarily mined metals and metals that are byproducts. FLAG is proposed for use in product development as an 'early warning system' that will allow potentially harmful elements to be flagged for priority study when projected anthropogenic fluxes rival or exceed natural fluxes. Indium, which is of particular importance in new families of high efficiency photovoltaic devices, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and indium tin oxide (ITO) electrical coatings, has been selected for study because its environmental cycling is poorly understood, toxicity has been suggested, and its industrial use is poised for exponential expansion. Natural and industrial fluxes of indium will be determined at the global, regional, and local scales. Education and outreach components of the project include: 1) involvement of graduate and undergraduate students in the research; 2) creation of a metal cycling exhibit for the Cambridge, MA annual science festival and a five-session science unit for 6th-8th graders in the Summerbridge Cambridge after-school program; and 3) collaboration with individuals in the mining and semiconductor industries.