Inland transportation system planning by life-cycle impact assessment: a case study. 2nd report: single comparison index

A model to estimate and compare the ecological impact and economic feasibility of a land transportation system (trucks) and a marine transportation system (cargo ships) was developed and presented in a previous report.¹ Three different comparison indices—environmental, economic, and customer service—were used to evaluate and compare their ecological impacts and determine their economic superiority. In this article, a single comparison index is proposed and assessed for the two transportation systems. The estimates were made for nine different routes in Japan. A simple mathematical model of the whole methodology is given. The sensitivity of the weighting factors used in the comparison method was analyzed. The social cost saving in monetary terms through a modal shift is also presented. Received: February 15, 2001 / Accepted: September 19, 2001     

Case study on health assessments related to a modal shift in transportation

Historically, the emphasis on environmental problems has been on visible pollution. However, as a result of the reduction in visible pollution in recent years, many people have become anxious about invisible dangers. The method for objectively evaluating these invisible dangers is risk assessment. Therefore, in the present study we propose and discuss a method for evaluating the influence of a modal shift in transportation on cancer risk using the technique of risk assessment. First, two representative transportation routes were selected for analysis. Subsequently, the level of airborne carcinogens from the exhaust of ships and trucks was determined. Next, the concentration of each carcinogen in locations across Japan was calculated. Finally, the number of people in Japan who will suffer from cancer related to these emissions was derived and the effects of the modal shift on health are discussed.