Date of Award

9-1992

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Wayne Seiler, PhD

Abstract

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.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GEE-CEC-92S-5

DTIC Accession Number

ADA261038

Comments

Presented to the the Faculty of the School of Engineering of the Air Force Institute of Technology.

The authors' Vita pages are omitted.

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