Development of a Heuristic Knowledge Base for the Selection of Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Environmental Requirements

Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements ARARs are the basis used in establishing threshold limits for hazardous waste cleanups performed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act CERCIA. ARARs selections must be applied consistently at numerous cleanup locations concurrently. The purpose of this research was to analyze activities required for the development of a heuristic knowledge base used for selection of The problem domain for the research was limited CERCLA cleanups of contaminated groundwater, through the use of a pump and treat strategy, using air stripping as the as the cleanup technology. The research examined literature concerning the importance of ARARs in the CERCLA restoration process and the knowledge acquisition and representation methods. The research then analyzed the activities required to acquire and represent the knowledge required for the selection of ARARS. A-byproduct o the research was a proof-of- concept prototype expert system which was used to validate knowledge acquired and represented in the problem domain. Prototype validation included comparing the results of consultations with the expert system with ARARs identified in the-Record of Decisions RODs for actual CERCLA cleanups. In three of four cases, the expert system successfully identified all ARARs germane to the cleanups.... Knowledge Based Systems, Expert Systems, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Protection, Computer Applications.