CRUMB RUBBER IN ROAD PAVEMENTS: LIFE CYCLE AND RISK ASSESSMENT, AN INTEGRATED APPROACH APPLIED TO CASE STUDIES

摘要

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), applied to two full-scale trial sections, was carried out for the evaluation of environmental effects associated to the use of crumb rubber (CR) from end-of-life tires (ELTs) in the production and laying of road pavement wearing courses. The specific case studies subjected to analysis were those of two extra-urban roads in the Province of Turin. Based on design and construction data, a LCA model was developed for the calculation of selected environmental indicators, which were referred to a pavement unit length. Results obtained for the different wearing courses were compared with those of a standard bituminous mixture, showing that the use of rubberized binders leads to significant benefits. Moreover, LCA results were supplemented by those of Sanitary-Environmental Risk Assessment (RA), which considers the exposure of workers to asphalt fumes during construction. Finally, an integrated LCA and RA approach was proposed by employing ILCD (International Reference Life Cycle Data System) recommendations.