Metal capital sustaining a North American city: Iron and copper in New Haven, CT by Konstantine Drakonakis, Katherine Rostkowski, Jason Rauch, T.E. Graedel, R.B. Gordon (2007)

Metal capital sustaining a North American city: Iron and copper in New Haven, CT

Title

Metal capital sustaining a North American city: Iron and copper in New Haven, CT

Author(s)

Konstantine Drakonakis

Year

2007

Type

Journal Article

Source

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 49, Pages 406-420

Abstract

A detailed inventory shows that an average resident of the City of New Haven depends on a per
capita capital stock of 9200 kg/c of iron and 144 kg/c of copper in the city infrastructure, buildings,
transportation systems, and equipment. Of the iron stock 28% is in items such as rail cars and ships
in ocean trade not permanently within the city, and 22% is devoted to receiving and delivering oil
fuel to the city and its surrounding communities. Copper is principally used in the distribution of
electric power and in water piping within buildings. The city's 9200 kg/c of iron stock-in-use is less
than the 13,000 kg/c national average due to New Haven's lack of heavy industry and relatively small
number of large buildings. The 144 kg/c of copper stock-in-use is only 58% of the overall value for
the United States, but is comparable to that in cities such as Stockholm, Sweden. Attainment of a
level of iron and copper services with contemporary technology in less developed countries to the
level enjoyed in New Haven would require consumption of the presently identified world copper
resources.

Metal capital sustaining a North American city: Iron and copper in New Haven, CT

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