Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to Support the Remediation of Polluted Soils: A Review of Case Studies

Abstract

For the successful remediation of polluted sites, priority setting among the possible remediation technologies is of major importance. The related decisions are typically conditioned by a limited set of alternative remediation techniques and multiple, often contradicting criteria. These characteristics make the decision problem suitable for applying a formalised discrete multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). This paper reports on the outcome of a systematic review of articles published between 1995 and 2020 encompassing 43 MCDA applications to support the selection of the remediation technique for polluted soils. It focuses on the comparison between implementations of the MCDA methodology. The review identifies four gaps where progress can be made to mobilise the full strength of the MCDA methodology to support the remediation of polluted soils: (i) early stakeholder engagement, (ii) inclusion of social criteria, (iii) an informed choice of the weighting and aggregation method, (iv) and sensitivity analysis.