An integrated multimedia model and multicriteria analysis approach to managing sewage sludge application on agricultural soils: framework and methodology

Sludge application to agricultural soils is a managing practice of increasing use, because of its benefits to soil and crops. The Council Directive 86/278/CEE regulates concentrations of heavy metals for sludge application, but has no restrictions related to organic compounds contamination. The Decision Support System (DSS) presented here, integrates a multimedia risk model of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to human and ecosystem (P), a model concern to areas’ vulnerability to nitrogen (N), and also an economical model (E), to indicate the best decision management for sludge application on agricultural soils. The three dimensional representation of the model allows a simple visualization of the multicriteria analysis, permitting transparency on decision making.