Occupational Health Liability Costs for Total Life Cycle Assessment

A comprehensive total life cycle cost assessment should include estimates of liability costs to provide the best picture of the financial viability of investments, such as product or process changes and pollution prevention projects. Potential liability costs are by nature difficult to estimate and include a prediction (or probability estimate) of risk. Occupational health liabilities resulting from illnesses to workers due to chemical exposure in specific automotive industrial processes have been evaluated using an incidence rate approach. Potential health risks to workers at varying levels of risk from low to high were determined, and the estimated economic costs resulting from those risks have been developed. These occupational health liability cost estimates can be used for total cost accounting in life cycle management.