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Back to processing<br />

Product at end of service life<br />

Recycling<br />

Collected waste<br />

Mechanical treatment<br />

Co-incineration<br />

or other recovery<br />

Industrial<br />

product (e.g.<br />

cement)<br />

Figure 4 Schematic representation of the waste life stage of a substance<br />

2.3.3.2 Types of emissions <strong>and</strong> sources<br />

Waste<br />

incineration<br />

ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT<br />

Waste remaining in the environment<br />

Use of residues<br />

in products<br />

WASTE SCENARIOS<br />

L<strong>and</strong>fill<br />

Emission patterns vary widely from well-defined point sources (single or multiple) to diffuse<br />

releases from large numbers of small point sources (like households) or line sources (like a<br />

motorway with traffic emissions). Releases may also be continuous or intermittent. Continuous<br />

emissions are characterised by an almost constant emission rate flow over a prolonged period<br />

(e.g. the emission of a substance from a continuous production process such as an oil refinery).<br />

Intermittent emissions can be peak emissions or block emissions (see Section 2.3.3.4). Peak<br />

emissions are characterised by a relatively large amount discharged in a short time where the<br />

time intervals between peaks <strong>and</strong> the peak height can vary greatly (e.g. the discharge of spent<br />

liquid - reaction mixture - after isolation of the synthesised substance in a batch process). Block<br />

emissions are characterised by a flow rate which is reasonably constant over certain time periods<br />

with regular intervals with a low or even zero background emission (e.g. the emissions from<br />

traffic during the day; during rush hours emission are particularly high). The quantities released<br />

from a certain process may vary from 100%, as is the case <strong>for</strong> example with household products<br />

like detergents or volatile solvents in paints, to below 1% <strong>for</strong> substances like intermediates<br />

produced in closed systems.<br />

29

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