Environmental Impact Assessment

This study of environmentla impact assessment includes four Sections. Section 1 discusses the current state of implementation of the directives on environmental impact assessment and environmental hazards. It also includes a paper on the Dutch integral environmental zoning project. Section 2 deals with EIA approaches and techniques. First, the phases of an EIA study and the risk analysis methods are described. Then, Danish experiences in EIA,, environmental planning in the Ruhr area and pollution abatement in oil refineries and inorganic chemical industries are illustrated. Finally, a decision support system for EIA is presented. Section 3 is devoted to environmental indicators and indices. A first paper investigates the fundamental problems related to the notions of environmental indicator and measurement scale. The assessment of air, surface water, ground water and soil quality indicators and indices is then discussed in detail. The last two papers of this section deal with ecotoxicological risk indicators for environmental chemicals and industrial plant risk indicators, respectively. Finally, Section 4 discusses the economical and sociological dimensions of EIA. The book should be of value to scientists and technicians involved in environmental impact, environmental compatibility and environmental audit studies.