Dear USEtox team,
I have acquired characterization factors (CFs) for some new substances that are not present in your database. However, I am encountering challenges in correctly utilizing the obtained values.
On the LCA for Experts software and applying the LCIA EF3.1 method, for one test substance, toluene, a CF of Ecotoxicity, freshwater - total=0.272 CTUe is reported. This value differs significantly from those listed in your database "USEtox_results_organics."
I would appreciate it if you could kindly clarify how the total ecotoxicity value of 0.272 CTUe was derived.
Thank you in advance.
The EF LCIA method uses essentially the formal USEtox model, but uses its own effect test data (only selected data among those submitted under the European REACH regulation) and also introduces some flags or robustness factors. This might for some substances lead to substantial differences to the official USEtox results. For details on how EF calculates its CFs, please refer to the documentation of the EF method.