Emilia Dunca

By Emilia-Cornelia Dunca and Sabina Irimie

Due to the high rate of industrialization, urbanization and development of the road network, hydrotechnical constructions, etc., larger areas of agricultural and arable lands are affected, some of these being removed from the economic circuit. Due to the magnitude of the involved volumes, industrial waste has lately become a threat to all the components of the environment. In Romania, 90–95% of the total quantity of the produced industrial waste are stored, but only 24% of them have an environmental clearance certificate. The action of the climatic factors increases the risk of the occurrence of some landslides, which leads to the deterioration of the ecosystems and the risk of pollution, the loss of stability, the destruction of some historical objectives. Thus, the risk analyses represent the support for the decision-making process in taking solid measures, meant to lead to the limitation and diminution of the danger of slipping and losing the stability of these deposits. However, the implementation of the measures is based on a systemic model, supported by the concept of risk. This chapter presents the definition and classification of environmental risks, the risk assessment methodology and a risk analysis for waste in a mining area in Romania.

Part of the book: Risk Management and Assessment