USEtox 2.0 : Documentation (Version 1)

Abstract

This document represents the official Documentation of USEtox, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) scientific consensus model for characterizing human and ecotoxicological impacts of chemical emissions in life cycle assessment. Main output of USEtox is a database of «recommended» and «indicative» characterization factors for human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity, based on modelling of environmental fate, exposure, and effect parameters for the substances. Due to deficiencies in the model or the available substance data, the «indicative» factors are accompanied by a higher uncertainty than the «recommended» factors, which should be considered when applying the factors and interpreting the results