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An Integrated Approach to Risk and Impacts of Geo-Resources Exploration and Exploitation

Authors :
Maria Vittoria Gargiulo
Alexander Garcia
Andrea Paulillo
Ortensia Amoroso
Ernesto Salzano
Paolo Capuano
Source :
Energies, Vol 14, Iss 14, p 4178 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Geo-resources are widely exploited in our society, with huge benefits for both economy and communities. Nevertheless, with benefits come risks and impacts. Understanding how such risks and impacts are intrinsically borne in a given project is of critical importance for both industry and society. In particular, it is crucial to distinguish between the specific impacts related to exploiting a given energy resource and those shared with the exploitation of other energy resources. A variety of different approaches can be used to identify and assess such risks and impacts. In particular, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and risk assessments (RAs) are the most commonly adopted. Although both are widely used to support decision making in environmental management, they are rarely used in combination perhaps because they have been developed by largely different groups of specialists. By analyzing the structure and the ratio of the two tools, we have developed an approach for combining and harmonizing LCA and MRA; the resulting protocol envisages building MRA upon LCA both qualitatively and quantitatively. We demonstrate the approach in a case study using a virtual site (based on a real one) for geothermal energy production.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19961073
Volume :
14
Issue :
14
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Energies
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.fe8c8eaed15e417d992c1d04b7922117
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/en14144178