Supporting decision makers in land use planning around chemical sites. Case study: expansion of an oil refinery.

An approach for supporting decisions on land use around chemical sites - along with a software decision support system (DSS) - based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA; and particularly on the establishment of the set of efficient solutions and letting the final selection depend on local procedures and value tradeoffs) is being illustrated through a case study where five alternative expansions of a refinery are considered along with the existing situation. Alternative land use plans are based on combinations of alternative uses of specific land cells coupled with alternative expansion options. Criteria for evaluating alternative land use plans are the potential loss of life (PLL), the noise levels and the economic benefit resulting for each specific land use plan.