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Assessing the value of hydrogeologic information for risk‐based remedial action decisions
Author(s) -
Reichard Eric G.,
Evans John S.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr025i007p01451
Subject(s) - hydrogeology , remedial action , value of information , groundwater , environmental science , remedial education , value (mathematics) , statistics , contamination , computer science , mathematics , engineering , environmental remediation , artificial intelligence , ecology , mathematics education , geotechnical engineering , biology
Remedial action decisions for groundwater contamination are made under conditions of uncertainty regarding both human exposure levels and chemical potency. The value of groundwater monitoring in reducing exposure uncertainty can be estimated within a decision‐analytic framework. The value of information from a particular monitoring strategy will depend on the expected accuracy of the strategy in estimating exposure, prior uncertainty about exposure and potency, the costs and efficiencies of the alternative remedial actions, and values assumed for the discount rate and the cost per unit risk. The proposed framework for assessing the value of hydrogeologic information at a groundwater contamination site consists of three steps: (1) determine a probability distribution for average lifetime exposure; (2) estimate the value of perfect exposure information in reducing the expected opportunity losses of decision making; and (3) compare hydrogeologic monitoring costs with the expected value of the sample information provided.