A case study of life cycle assessment (LCA) on ballast for fluorescent lamp in Malaysia

Fluorescent lamp requires ballast to operate. In this study the environmental impacts of magnetic and electronic ballast are compared using life cycle assessment approach. The newly released Directives and Regulations on Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Eco-design Requirements for Energy Using Products (EuP) require the study of environmental impact of electrical and electronic products for the improvement environmental performance of product and processes prior to acceptance in the European market. Presently in Malaysia, there is a very limited data at the national level since the LCA studies of the electrical and electronic product have not been conducted in Malaysia. The ISO 14040 series were used as the reference for conducting this study. The functional unit chosen in this study is a 36 watt ballast used to operate one fluorescent lamp of 36 watt. Life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis showed that steel is a major component for both types of ballast; in magnetic ballast steel is mainly used for the production of the magnetic component in the magnetic ballast whilst it is used as a housing for the electronic ballast. In this study, Eco-indicator 99 was chosen to determine the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA).Three major impacts were identified; effect to human health, ecosystem quality and resource depletion. The most significant impact to the environment for both types of ballast is resource depletion particularly for the production and use phase.