Evaluating the impacts of environmental and human health of the critical minerals mining and processing industries in Indonesia using life cycle assessment

The critical minerals industries in Indonesia may pose possible environmental and human health risks due to the release of pollutants into soil, water, and air, as well as the use of materials and energy. This study investigates the possible environmental and human health impacts of Indonesia's nickel, gold, copper, tin, and bauxite mining and processing industries. This study utilizes the latest version of the OpenLCA software, version 2.0, in combination with the Ecoinvent 3.8 database. To evaluate potential environmental consequences and health effects on humans, CML-IA Baseline and Environmental Priority Strategies (EPS) are employed in product development. The EPS system was developed utilizing a hierarchical methodology with the objective of furnishing the product developer with data regarding the financial impact of human health impairment resulting from a particular product development. The production of one tonne of gold, nickel, bauxite, tin, and copper results in the emission of 7.34.E+07, 4.61.E+04, 3.10.E+04, 1.02.E+04, 8.01.E+03 kg CO₂ eq/t, respectively, contributing to global warming. This production is associated with asthma cases of 7.79.E+01 (gold industry), 2.21.E−03 (copper industry), 1.81.E−03 (tin industry), 9.21.E−04 (nickel industry), and 4.71.E−06 (bauxite industry) Personyears/t. Electricity consumption and the release of carbon dioxide are the main factors contributing to global warming. The primary cause of asthma cases is the utilization of fuel oil and electricity. Power plant chimneys can employ various technologies, such as cyclones, bag filters, and scrubbers, to mitigate the release of polluting gas emissions. The critical mineral industry must prioritize handling and governing of steam power facilities to minimize their negative effects on the environment and human health.