The practical application of the AMBER software tool to support environmental decision making

This paper presents practical examples of where problem-specific compartment models have been developed and implemented in AMBER to aid environmental decision making. An assessment of the disposal of organic pesticides by land spreading to evaluate the protection of surface and groundwater resources. Following a literature review and workshop of experts, a model was developed to provide a scoping assessment and to identify key processes and parameters. A contaminated land safety assessment integrating 37 areas of contaminated ground into a 3-D site-wide model that included adjacent farmland and marine environments. The assessment demonstrated the safety of the current management and provided input into remediation decisions. The potential for contaminants released as part of routine effluent discharges to be taken up into the foodchain following the use of contaminated sludge from a sewage treatment plant was addressed With a model of the treatment process and subsequent use of the sludge as a soil improver. A model of the possible future use of irrigation water potentially contaminated with arsenic, lead and cadmium leached from a proposed.hazardous waste disposal facility, and their subsequent uptake in the foodchain was developed as part of the facility's successful submission for regulatory authorisation. These studies illustrate how, by giving the user the power to create compartment models from basics, AMBER has been successfully applied to a wide range of contaminant modelling situations, from generic, research level studies for regulators to detailed site-wide models for site operators.