An Overall Index of Environmental Quality in Coal Mining Areas and Energy Facilities |
| |
Authors: | Konstantinos I Vatalis Demetrios C Kaliampakos |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Mining Engineering & Metallurgy, Laboratory of Mining and Environmental Technology, Iroon Polytechniou, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Zografou, 15773 Athens, Greece |
| |
Abstract: | An approach to measuring environmental quality and trends in coal mining and industrial areas was attempted in this work.
For this purpose, the establishment of a reference scale characterizing the status of environmental quality is proposed by
developing an Environmental Quality Index (EQI). The methodology involves three main components: social research, the opinion
of environmental experts, and the combination of new or existing indices. A survey of public opinion was carried out to identify
the main environmental problems in the region of interest. Environmental experts carried out a survey, and the weights of
specific environmental problems were obtained through a fuzzy Delphi method and pairwise comparison. The weight attributed
to each environmental problem was computed, using new or existing indices (subindices) in the relevant literature. The EQI
comprises a combination of the subindices with their own weights. The methodology was applied to a heavily industrialized
coal basin in northwestern Macedonia, Greece. The results show that the new index may be used as a reliable tool for evaluating
environmental quality in different areas. In addition, the study of EQI trends on an interannual basis can provide useful
information on the efficiency of environmental policies already implemented by the responsible authorities. |
| |
Keywords: | Environmental quality index Coal mining activities Pairwise comparison Fuzzy Delphi method Greece |
本文献已被 PubMed SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|