MEL PRIME™

LCA results & interpretation MEL PRIME™

MEL PRIME™ MEL PRIME™ N.E. MEL PRIME™ W/B EPD additional content

Scope and summary

Cradle to gate
Cradle to gate with options
Cradle to grave

Application

MEL-PRIME is a solvent-based, ready-to-use adhesive for W. R. MEADOWS membrane systems. It is red to reddish-brown in color. It is designed for surfaces to receive waterproofing and air/vapor barrier systems from W. R. MEADOWS.

Functional unit

According to the PCR, the functional unit is: 1 m²of covered and protected substrate for a period of 60 years (the assumed average lifetime of a building).

W. R. MEADOWS' VOCOMP and MEL-PRIME products fall within the general category of curing, sealing, and priming coatings. The product life for coatings is typically defined by market lifetime (5 years) and technical life (either 5, 10, or 20 years), depending on performance in durability tests as outlined in the PCR. Since VOCOMPs are single-use products that do not require reapplication, the functional unit considers only the initial application, with no additional reapplications over the 60-year lifespan of a building. The results in this report are presented per functional unit.

Density: 7.8 lb/gal

Coverage: 6.75 m²/L

Reference flow: 0.14 kg/functional unit

Manufacturing data

Reporting period: January 2023 – December 2023
Location: Hampshire, IL

What’s causing the greatest impacts

All life cycle stages

The production stage dominates the overall environmental impact of MEL-PRIME. This stage contributes more than three-quarters of the total impacts across most categories. Key categories affected include global warming potential (GWP), acidification, fossil fuel depletion, and ecotoxicity. The construction stage includes the transportation to application site and packaging disposal. This stage adds a small but non-negligible share. The use stage shows no direct emissions, whereas end-of-life emissions are minimal, mostly from residual disposal and packaging waste.

Production Stage

Polymeric binders and solvent-based components primarily drive the environmental impact in the production stage. These materials account for most of the global warming, smog, and fossil fuel depletion categories. Manufacturing operations and packaging contribute additional emissions through electricity and natural gas use. Volatile ingredients also contribute to ozone depletion and respiratory effects in small but measurable amounts. Overall, MEL-PRIME’s production impacts reflect the typical profile of a solvent-modified primer.

Design & Construction Stage

The primary contributor in the construction stage is truck transportation to the installation site. These stages contribute to acidification and ecotoxicity, though their overall contributions remain lower than manufacturing.

Use & Maintenance Stage

Use-stage impacts are minimal. The water or energy consumption during use is not accounted for or because MEL PRIME are single-use products that do not require reapplication.

End-of-life Stage

End-of-life impacts (4-1, 4-2) are minor, meaning most emissions occur upstream.

How we're making it greener

W. R. MEADOWS has championed environmental awareness since the 1980s and pioneered the GREEN LINE® product portfolio. This line features products with lower VOC content, achieved through innovative water-based formulations. These formulations typically have lower embodied carbon compared to their solvent-based counterparts. MEL-PRIME W/B is part of this line.

Contractors prefer GREEN LINE products for their exceptional performance and ease of application, requiring less specialized equipment. Tools used for application can be cleaned with soap and water while still wet, eliminating the need for harsh chemical cleaners.

Water-based products not only safeguard the atmosphere but also enhance worker safety.

Utilizing biobased content
By utilizing biobased content, we support renewable resources, contribute to a more sustainable production process and lower carbon emissions.

Intentionally added product ingredients have been screened against chemicals listed in the Living Building Challenge Red List 4.0, April 2024, and do not contain any of the listed ingredients.

See how we make it greener

LCA results

Life cycle stage	Production	Construction	USE	End of Life
Information modules: Included (X) \| Excluded (MND)*	(X) 1-1 Raw materials manufacturing	(X) 2-1 Transportation to distribution center	(X) 3-1 Coating application	(X) 4-1 Transportation to disposal site
	(X) 1-2 Transportation of raw materials to plants	(X) 2-2 Transportation to point of sale/ Installation	(X) 3-2 Emission from drying	(X) 4-2 End-of-life management
	(X) 1-3 Coating manufacturing	(X) 2-3 Transportation to application site	(X) 3-3 Necessary maintenance and repair

SM Single Score

Learn about SM Single Score results

Impacts per functional unit	1.31E-02 mPts	1.22E-03 mPts	8.43E-03 mPts	2.26E-04 mPts
Materials or processes contributing >20% to total impacts in each life cycle stage	Solvent blends and hydrocarbon-based polymers with manufacturing processes.	Transportation of the product to the installation site.	Emission from drying.	Transport to waste facilities, background emissions from landfilling of coated concrete, and disposal of packaging waste.

TRACI v2.1 results per functional unit

Life cycle stage	Production	Construction	USE	End of Life

Ecological damage

Impact category	Unit
GWP, IPCC _TOTAL	kg CO₂ eqKilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming potential is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GWP leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. IPCCtotal is calculated based on IPCC 2013 AR5, inclusive of fossil and biogenic CO2eq.	2.71E-01	2.03E-02	1.72E-02	3.31E-03
GWP, IPCC _BIOGENIC	kg CO₂ eqKilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. IPCCbiogenic reflects the biogenic carbon removals and emissions from products and packaging.	0.00E+00	0.00E+00	0.00E+00	0.00E+00
GWP, IPCC _FOSSIL	kg CO₂ eqKilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. IPCCfossil excludes effects from biogenic carbon.	2.70E-01	2.03E-02	1.72E-02	3.31E-03
GWP, TRACI 2.1 _TOTAL	kg CO₂ eqKilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. The TRACI 2.1 total is the sum of TRACI 2.1 biogenic and TRACI 2.1 fossil results.	2.65E-01	2.01E-02	1.66E-02	2.94E-03
GWP, TRACI 2.1 _BIOGENIC	kg CO₂ eqKilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. TRACI 2.1 biogenic results reflect the biogenic carbon removals and emissions from products and packaging.	0.00E+00	0.00E+00	0.00E+00	0.00E+00
GWP, TRACI 2.1 _FOSSIL	kg CO₂ eqKilograms of Carbon Dioxide equivalent Global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to change in global climate patterns and is caused by the increase of the sources of greenhouse gases and decrease of the sinks due to deforestation and land use. GW leads to problems in human health, agriculture, forest, water source, and damage to species and biodiversity as well as coastal areas. The TRACI 2.1 fossil value reflects the default GWP value generated using the EPA methodology which excludes biogenic carbon by default.	2.71E-01	2.03E-02	1.72E-02	3.31E-03
Ozone depletion	kg CFC-11 eq Kilograms of Trichlorofluoromethane equivalent Ozone depletion is the reduction of ozone in the stratosphere caused by the release of ozone depleting chemicals. Ozone depletion can increases ultraviolet B radiation to the earth which can adversely affect human health (skin cancer and cataracts and immune-system suppression) and other systems (marine life, agricultural crops, and other vegetation) and causes damage to human-built materials.	3.96E-07	2.88E-10	3.95E-08	1.11E-11
Acidification	kg SO₂ eq Kilograms of Sulfur Dioxide equivalent Acidification processes increase the acidity of water and soil systems and causes damage to lakes, streams, rivers, and various plants and animals, as well as building materials, paints, and other human-built structures.	8.29E-04	4.96E-05	5.67E-05	2.63E-06
Eutrophication	kg N eqKilograms of Nitrogen equivalent Eutrophication is the enrichment of an aquatic ecosystem with nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) that accelerate biological productivity (growth of algae and weeds) and an undesirable accumulation of algal biomass which impacts industry, agriculture, drinking, fishing, and recreation and causes death of fish and shellfish, toxicity to humans, marine mammals and livestock, and reduces biodiversity.	6.13E-05	3.38E-06	4.26E-06	6.15E-07

Human health damage

Impact category	Unit
Smog	kg O₃ eqKilograms of Ozone equivalent Smog formation (photochemical oxidant formation) is the formation of ozone molecules in the troposphere by complex chemical reactions which are influenced by ambient concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the mix of organic compounds (OCs), temperature, sunlight, and convective flows. Ozone concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere above the natural trace amounts lead to detrimental impacts on human health and ecosystems.	1.11E-02	1.28E-03	2.20E-01	7.39E-05
Respiratory effects	kg PM_2.5 eqKilograms of Particulate Matter equivalent which are smaller than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter Particulate matter concentrations have a strong influence on chronic and acute respiratory symptoms and mortality rates.	1.07E-04	6.84E-06	7.28E-06	3.77E-07

Additional environmental information

Impact category	Unit
Carcinogenics	CTU_h Comparative Toxic Units of Human cancerous toxicity Carcinogens have the potential to form cancers in humans.	1.00E-09	1.29E-11	4.11E-11	2.48E-11
Non-carcinogenics	CTU_h Comparative Toxic Units of Human non-cancerous toxicity Non-Carcinogens have the potential to causes non-cancerous adverse impacts to human health.	1.40E-08	2.48E-09	6.98E-10	1.74E-09
Ecotoxicity	CTU_e Comparative Toxic Units of Ecotoxicity Ecotoxicity causes negative impacts to ecological receptors and, indirectly, to human receptors through the impacts to the ecosystem.	1.04E-01	5.06E-02	4.71E-03	2.68E-03
Fossil fuel depletion	MJ surplus Mega Joule, lower heating value Fossil fuel depletion is the surplus energy to extract minerals and fossil fuels.	6.23E-01	3.83E-02	5.53E-02	1.23E-03

References

LCA Background Report
LCA of W. R. MEADOWS Concrete curing products, 2025. Developed using the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) 100-year time, TRACI v2.1, CML, and Cumulative Energy Demand (LHV) impact assessment methodologies, SimaPro Analyst 9.6 software, and ecoinvent v3.10 and US-EI 2.2 databases.

ISO 14025:2006 Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations — Principles and procedures

ISO 21930:2017, Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works -- Core rules for environmental product declarations of construction products and services

NSF Product Category Rule for Environmental Product Declarations: Architectural Coatings: NAICS 325510, version 2 extended through June 30, 2025.

Download MEL PRIME™ PDF SM Transparency Report [EPD]

SM Transparency Reports (TR) are ISO 14025 Type III environmental declarations (EPD) that enable purchasers and users to compare the potential environmental performance of products on a life cycle basis. Environmental declarations from different programs (ISO 14025) may not be comparable. Comparison of the environmental performance using EPD information shall consider all relevant information modules over the full life cycle of the products within the building. This PCR allows EPD comparability only when the same functional requirements between products are ensured and the requirements of ISO 21930:2017 §5.5 are met. It should be noted that different LCA software and background LCI datasets may lead to differences results for upstream or downstream of the life cycle stages declared. LCIA results are relative expressions and do not predict impacts on category endpoints, the exceeding of thresholds, safety margins or risks. These six impact categories are globally deemed mature enough to be included in Type III environmental declarations. Other categories are being developed and defined and LCA should continue making advances in their development. However, the EPD users shall not use additional measures for comparative purposes. Comparison of the environmental performance of structural and architectural wood products using EPD information shall be based on the product’s use and impacts at the construction works level, and therefore EPDs may not be used for comparability purposes when not considering the construction works energy use phase as instructed under this PCR. Full conformance with the PCR for structural and architectural wood products allows EPD comparability only when all stages of a life cycle have been considered, when they comply with all referenced standards, use the same sub-category Part B PCR, and use equivalent scenarios with respect to construction works. However, variations and deviations are possible. Example of variations: Different LCA software and background LCI datasets may lead to differences results for upstream or downstream of the life cycle stages declared.

Rating systems

The intent is to reward project teams for selecting products from manufacturers who have verified life-cycle environmental performance.

LEED BD+C: New Construction | v4 - LEED v4

Building product disclosure and optimization

Environmental product declarations

Industry-wide (generic) EPD ½ product
Product-specific Type III EPD 1 product

LEED BD+C: New Construction | v4.1 - LEED v4.1