Integrated Methodology for Design of Polluted Water Control System of Road Infrastructures for Environmental Protection

Abstract

An integrated methodology is proposed for the design of polluted water control systems for road infrastructures, based on hazard analysis concepts. The case of a simultaneous rainstorm and road accident with the dispersion of dangerous substances is considered. The risk function is computed with regard to the objective evaluation of severity of the event and to the stochastic calculation of the associate probability. A logical framework for the evaluation of severity is proposed by taking into consideration four possible circumstances for the dispersion of pollutants: surface and ground water, and natural and urban soil. A set of check lists have been devised for the assessment and design of the environmental protection control systems. The methodological approach is completed with the formulation of a stochastic model representing the statistical combination of the occurrence of the hydrological processes and the road accident dynamics. The stochastic model estimates the expected volume of contaminated rainfall for any defined probability of occurrence of the polluting event, i.e., return time of the hazard, in a coherent statistical setting. The proposed integrated methodology has been applied to a real case presently under construction: the Salerno–Reggio Calabria Highway located in Southern Italy.