Environmental Impact assessment of industries through a multicriteria decision-making analysis

MAINARDI-REMIS, JUAN MARTÍN; GUTIÉRREZ-CACCIABUE, DOLORES; RAJAL, VERONICA BEATRIZ

Bahía Blanca

Congreso; International Conference of Production and Research; 2020

Activities carried out by industries generate wastes which become a potential risk ifthere are not properly treated and well-disposed in the environment. More than two hundredindustries located in the Province of Salta have been previously classified in twenty categoriesaccording to the type of product they made. However, the environmental impact of theseindustries is still unknown. Multicriteria decision-making analysis (MCDA) are usefulmethodologies to apply in this cases as they allow choosing the best from diverse alternativesbased on multiple criteria, to finally make a smart decision. The aim of this work was to apply aMCDA to identify which categories of industries impact the most on the environment. TheAnalytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) was the MCDA selected. The alternatives were twentycategories of industries. Five criteria and sub-criteria (shown in parenthesis) were defined: 1-environmental resources (water, soil and air); 2- types of waste (physical, chemical andbiological); 3- water consumption; 4- industries features (amount and size); 5- populationindex. AHP was solved with Expert Choice 11 Inc. Environmental resources and types ofwaste, were the criteria that weighed the most. Agroindustry was the alternative that impactmost on the environment, due to the use of agrochemicals, emission of toxic gases and manure.In second place was the food industry which generates a variety of waste. These results will beuseful on decision-making as they allow identifying the categories of industries that mostimpact in the environment, to propose alternatives for a better waste management.