PARENT SESSION
52 - Risk Assessment and Management
8:00 AM to 6:30 PM, Tuesday, 14 May 2002
Exhibition Area

(52-36) Risk based decision support system for requalification of contaminated sites.

Critto, Andrea^*,1, Carlon, Claudio², Samiolo, Manuela², Nadal, Nadia², Marcomini, Antonio¹, Petruzzelli, GianAntonio³, ¹ University of Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Calle Larga S. Marta 2137, Venice, Italy² Consorzio Venezia Ricerche, Via della Libertà 5/12, Marghera-Venice, Italy³ Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Chimica del Suolo, Pisa, Italy

ABSTRACT- The rehabilitation of contaminated sites is a complex process encompassing technological, environmental, socio-economic aspects. These aspects show close spatial and temporal inter-relations. It is internationally recognised (CLARINET, NICOLE ref.) that risk assessment procedures can play a key-role to simplify effectively this process. Moreover, mega-sites (hundreds of hectares) require properly designed Decision Support Systems. In this work, a Decision Support System for the Requalification of Contaminated Sites (DSS) was developed aiming at identifying the most effective rehabilitation interventions. The DSS proposed is based on a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework and integrates environmental and technological databases, risk assessment models, and multi criteria procedures. It is composed of five modules: (1) characterisation, (2) risk, (3) socio-economical and (4) technological analysis, and (5) decision. The characterisation module provides all the available information on the site (e.g. chemical and hydrogeological data). It can be explored by means of GIS tools and easily available as input values to statistical and geo-statistical software, hydrogeological and contaminant fate and transport models. It provides the definition of efficient sampling strategies, definition of contaminant distribution, prediction of transport processes and input parameters for the risk assessment module. The risk assessment module includes exposure and risk assessment models. It provides risk maps and indicators to be used in the decision module. The socio-economical assessment module outlines socio-economical constraints and benefits and provides indicators to be used in the decision module. The technological assessment module outlines feasibility, advantages, limits and costs of different techniques and provides specific indicators. Information from the three assessment modules, mainly in the form of indicators, will be integrated in the final decisional module by means of multi-criteria analysis. Finally, alternative scenarios are provided to stakeholders.The DSS has been tested in the case study of the industrial area of Porto Marghera (a site of 3,000 ha wide), located on the border of the Venice Lagoon.

Key words: Decision Support System, Risk Assessment, Contaminated sites, Geographic Information System