Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) of Coal Burning for Home Heating on the Navajo Nation, USA

1. Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) of Coal Burning for Home Heating on the Navajo Nation, USA 29 July 2011 WHO Training on Life Cycle Assessment Ministry of Health, Ulaanbaatar Anne Riederer ScD (Riederer.Anne@epa.gov) American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

6. A traditional Navajo home “hogan” 1908 photo of hogan with Ship Rock in distance(source: Denver Public Library)

7. Summer hogan - early 1900s (source: Denver Public Library)

8. Traditional hogans nowadays

9. Traditional hogans today Traditional octagonal hogan near Shiprock (abandoned) around 1950-70? source: www.nationalgeographic.com Traditional hogan in winter source: http://navajopeople.org/navajo-hogans.htm

10. Modern hogans Modern wooden hogan Modern hogan

11. Inside a modern hogan – look familiar? (source: www.rehobothbhs.org)

12. Other modern Navajo homes source: www.nativenewsnetwork.com/american-recovery-reinvestment-act-funded-22-new-homes-on-the-navajo-nation.html source:www.rjnconstructionmanagement.com/Job_Photos.html source: http://bettycauler.com/page/Navajo-Nation.aspx source:www.rjnconstructionmanagement.com/Job_Photos.html

13. Home of the future? source: www.dwell.com

14. Old and new household energy sources (source: http://www.azcentral.com/photo/News/Projects/19220)

15. Cold winters (maybe not as cold as here!)

16. 18,000 of 48,000 Navajo homes without electricity • In USA, 14.2% of Native American households have no access to electricity compared to 1.4% of all US households • Navajo Nation accounts for 75% of US households without electricity Source: Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. 2004. Navajo Electrification Demonstration Program. Presentation to U.S. Department of Energy, Tribal Energy Program 2004 Program Review Meeting, Colorado, USA.

17. Coal-Fired Power Plants on Navajo Nation • Navajo Generating Station (Page, Arizona) • Four Corners Power Plant (2,040 MW) (Farmington, New Mexico) • Together serve 600,000 families in Arizona, Nevada, California (not on Navajo Nation) • Proposed plant at Desert Rock (will it get built?); all power would be exported • ~600,000 billion BTU coal exported from Navajo Nation each year (Mills, 2006. as cited in Billie et al.) • Navajo Nation gets large share (30-85%) of its revenues from coal sales

18. Source: Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA). Navajo Electrification Demonstration Program. Presentation at Department of Energy, Tribal Energy Program, 2004 Annual Meeting

19. Source: Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA). Navajo Electrification Demonstration Program. Presentation at Department of Energy, Tribal Energy Program, 2004 Annual Meeting

20. Source: NTUA. Navajo Electrification Demonstration Program. Presentation at Department of Energy, Tribal Energy Program, 2004 Annual Meeting

21. Economic Realities • Average household income on Navajo Nation much lower than rest of U.S. • 40% unemployment • Running a power line to a home costs ~ $30,000 per mile (Billie et al. 2008. SAND Number 2009-0074P) • Hybrid system of 880 Watt photovoltaic (PV) array and small wind turbine provided by NTUA cost ~$18,000 each; family must manage load carefully since units produce ~2 kW per day (Billie et al. 2008. SAND Number 2009-0074P)

22. Other off-grid heating options (coal, wood, propane) Source of cost information: “Burning coal for heat puts families at risk, but many on Navajo land see few options,” http://iapnews.wordpress.com/author/envhealth/ source: http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2010/10/for-many-navajos-its-been-a-long-wait-for-power/

23. Modern Coal Heaters

24. Why are we doing the Navajo coal heating LCA? Bunnell et al. 2010. Journal of Environmental and Public Health

25. Paul Anastas, EPA Assistant Administrator for Research & Development Why are we doing the Navajo coal heating LCA?

26. Goal and Scope Definition Inventory Interpretation Impact Assessment Navajo coal heating LCA

27. Options considered Start with coal… …present preliminary results to stakeholders. Then they will decide 2-3 other options we should consider.

28. Inputs Outputs Goal and Scope Definition Raw materials Waste heat Raw material acquisition Use Maintenance Transportation Emissions/ effluents/ waste Renewable energy Heating unit manufacture Monitoring/testing/ certification Demolition/demanu-facturing/recycling Interpretation Land/water/ carbon use Inventory Non-renewable energy Transportation Refurbishment/reuse Final disposal Local job opportunities Impact Assessment Figure X. System boundaries of the Navajo home heating life cycle assessment (LCA) – Version 1 (5/2/11) System boundaries Production phase Use phase End of life phase

29. Setting the Functional Unit Goal and Scope Definition HEED (Home Energy Efficient Design) Model • UCLA Dept of Architecture and Urban Design • www.aud.ucla.edu/energy-design-tools

30. Setting the Functional Unit Goal and Scope Definition

32. Goal and Scope Definition Inputs Outputs Interpretation Inventory Raw materials Waste heat Raw material acquisition Use Maintenance Transportation Emissions/ effluents/ waste Renewable energy Heating unit manufacture Monitoring/testing/ certification Demolition/demanu-facturing/recycling Impact Assessment Land/water/ carbon use Non-renewable energy Transportation Refurbishment/reuse Final disposal Local job opportunities Figure X. System boundaries of the Navajo home heating life cycle assessment (LCA) – Version 1 (5/2/11) We are starting here because this is where the health impacts are likely to be greatest System boundaries Production phase Use phase End of life phase

33. How much Shiprock coal = 40,546 kBTU?(functional unit = heat for 1 family for 1 year) From Bunnell et al. (2010): "The free coal comes from the Late Cretaceous Fruitland Formation and is relatively low rank (subbituminous to high-volatile bituminous). The Fruitland coal is lower in calorific value (10,646 +/− 1590 BTU/pound) and higher in ash content (22.24 +/− 7.02%) than…Black Mesa (10,910–11,560 BTU/pound, 4.7–9.1%)…Many people who live in the … Shiprock area, despite having access to free coal from the Navajo mine, nevertheless choose to purchase Black Mesa coal at local fleamarkets due to its superior quality…"

34. Goal and Scope Definition Interpretation Inventory Impact Assessment (TRACI graphic courtesy of Jane Bare, EPA/ORD) BUT! TRACI does not yet handle indoor air pollution – we have to fix that...the Navajo LCA can be a test case

35. What are emissions from burning 1.9 tons Shiprock coal in a stove? AP-42 www.epa.gov

36. How reliable are emissions factors?

37. How reliable are emissions factors? Source: EPA. 1995. Introduction to AP 42, Volume I, Fifth Edition (www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/index.html)

38. Emissions factors for residential coal combustion Source: Haneke, “A National Methodology and Emission Inventory for Residential Fuel Combustion.” • S = weight % sulfur content of coal as fired (example: if fuel is 1.2% sulfur, then S = 1.2) • On average, for bituminous coal, 95% of fuel sulfur is emitted as SO2 Source: AP-42, 5th edition, Table 1.1-19

39. Sulfur content of Navajo Coal www.usgs.gov

41. Mean sulfur content: • Black Mesa coal = 0.5% • Fruitland coal = 0.9% • Midpoint value = 0.7%

42. Emissions factors for residential coal combustion – other pollutants Pollutant Emission Factor AP-42 Table Publication (lb/ton) (hand-fired) Date HCl 1.2 1.1-15 09/98 HF 0.15 1.1-15 09/98 CH4 5 1.1-19 09/98 CO2 72.6*mean %C 1.1-20 09/98

44. PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) Source: EPA. 1984. Emissions factors for residential wood and alternatives combustion.

45. Source: EPA. AP-42, 5th edition.

46. Source: EPA. AP-42, 5th edition.

47. Emissions inventory so far (still working on it!)

48. Emissions factors for old wood (oak) stoves

49. TRACI impacts so far (still working on it!)