Life cycle toxicity analysis of engineered stone: a multi indicator comparison of polyester based and cement based product systems with regulatory implications

Abstract Production, sale, manufacturing and mounting of engineered stone kitchen countertops, tiles and sheets have been banned in Australia as at 2024. This type of change can be a point of concern with respect to other products which may also have reduced emissions throughout its life cycle, as well as decreasing the exposure of workers to respirable crystalline silica. The four systems of slab are compared on a cradle-to-grave period in this research. Polyester with quartz, polyester with broken glass, natural aggregate with Portland cement, and reused construction material with cement are some slabs included. ReCiPe 2016 and IMPACT World+ are combined. Two end-of-life scenarios of an Australian company are analyzed with respirable crystalline silica released at a stage of production reported as another indicator of the stock levels. As a rule, products that are based on polyester will generally appear to be more dangerous compared with the products based on cement. The major hotspots are represented by unsaturated polyester resin and styrene fabrication. Concrete systems do not imply excessive involvement of concrete, pigments, and energy. End-of-life flows measured add almost nothing to downstream impact leaving unchanged ranking of relative. Binder substitution is therefore beneficial because it brings improvement of toxicity reduction, instead of substitution of the particular aggregate. Based on these results, product assessment must incorporate consideration of binder chemistry, downstream control, job dangers, and amount of the silica.