Design of a central tool for sustainability evaluation and weighting to decision-making support of contaminated soils remediation

Abstract

Sustainable remediation remains unstandardized and ambiguously regulated, thereby limiting its adoption in the management of contaminated areas. Although a considerable number of tools are available for this purpose, numerous shortcomings continue to be detected, especially with regard to the integration of a complete assessment of impact and sustainability into a single framework. In view of these problems, the objective in this study was to develop and validate an integrated tool for assessing the sustainability of remediation techniques for contaminated soils. To support the sustainability analysis, were prepared impact assessment matrices, which list components and criteria for obtaining integrated impact scores for each sustainability dimension/pillar (i.e., social, economic, and environmental), factor, and component. These impact scores were incorporated and fitted into a mathematical model used to ascertain the sustainability of the techniques. The tool was subsequently validated by comparing and analyzing the sustainability with which five techniques: phytoremediation, electrokinetics and excavation/disposal (Case Study I), nanoremediation and soil washing (Case Study II). The techniques' probabilities of sustainability followed the order presented in the preceding statement. The determination of sustainability was supported by the direct interaction between the effects derived under each dimension and technique. These findings led to the conclusion that the proposed tool prioritizes the basic principles of sustainability, which call for harmony among the three pillars, and that it is a favorable instrument for the evaluation and selection of a sustainable remediation technique.

Keywords: Criteria; Impact assessment matrix; Impact components; Mathematical model; Sustainability indices; Sustainable remediation.