Qualitative vs. quantitative risk evaluation in contaminated sites management

Decision analysis for contaminated sites management is generally carried out through a traditional engineering/economic point of view. However, new advances in risk assessment (e.g. probabilistic risk assessment), and the growing recognition and awareness of the importance of ’soft’, non-statistical, informal data in the decision-making process, require decision analysis methodologies that are capable of accommodating non-technical and politically biased qualitative information.