FUZZY DECISION-MAKING IN-GROUND WATER NITRATE RISK MANAGEMENT

Ground water nitrate contamination is widespread in the United States and especially prevalent in agriculture-intensive areas such as the Mi dwest. To reduce human health risks (i.e., methemoglobinemia and cance r risks) from nitrates in ground water supplies, several nitrate risk- management strategies can be developed based on acceptable levels of h uman health risks, the reasonableness of the cost required for risk re duction, and the technical feasibility of nitrate-control methods. How ever, due to a lack of available information, assessing risk, cost, an d technical feasibility contains elements of uncertainty. In this pape r, a nitrate risk-management methodology using fuzzy sets in combinati on with a multicriterion decision-making (MCDM) technique is developed to assist decision makers in evaluating, with uncertain information, possible regulatory actions along with the various nitrate risk-manage ment strategies in order to determine an appropriate strategy. The met hodology is illustrated using data from a community with a nitrate wat er-quality problem.