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OCETA Environmental Technology Profile
Environmental IMPACT is a user-friendly, customizable tool for conducting analyses on the transport and accumulation of contaminants through the environment, and to permit calculations of dose or risk to humans and other biota. Using IMPACT's graphical user interface, it is possible to create or modify scenarios quickly, without the need to change the actual programming code. Non-technical users can easily construct and run complex simulations to assess the impact of contaminant releases in a wide variety of natural environments and communicate the results using maps and graphs.
Figure 1: Polygons representing land and water in IMPACT can be arbitrarily shaped, or digitized using imported maps from popular CAD/GIS applications.
Figure 2: Built-in libraries include models for atmospheric dispersion, groundwater transport, soil-erosion, and water-sediment diffusion.
The Environmental IMPACT™ model has been developed and validated for application to a large number of organic, inorganic and radioactive contaminants. The model has been used by both regulatory agencies as well as a number of private sector companies for assessment of both radiological and non-radiological contaminant impacts. Built-in libraries include models for atmospheric dispersion, groundwater transport, soil erosion, and water-sediment diffusion. Table 1 lists some example applications.
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In IMPACT, the reference environment is conceptually divided into a series of polygons representing areas of land and water with similar characteristics (see Figure 1). Within each polygon are "blocks" -- different environmental media where contaminants could potentially accumulate, such as soil, air, sediment, animals, plants and humans. Equations in IMPACT describe the partitioning of contaminants between these blocks, along defined pathways. In IMPACT, blocks are represented by distinctive icons on the computer screen indicating the nature of the block (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: This example shows the contents of polygon "Garden" which contains a human receptor who is exposed to contamination from several different pathways.
There is no restriction on the number of polygons, blocks or links that can be created in a simulation, so the user is free to create as simple or complex a simulation as desired. Blocks can have any number of "inputs" or "outputs", indicating that they receive contaminant input from or discharge contaminants to one or more blocks along different pathways. Specific blocks are created by selecting from a list in a pull-down menu. Once created, blocks appear on the computer screen and can be repositioned using a mouse.
Input parameters for each block are entered in a window or dialog box with editable text fields. Once the parameters have been entered for each block in a simulation, the user can begin executing a simulation for any number of years, and iterations with any time step. The results calculated during the simulation can be plotted in real-time on a map or in a graph window (Figure 4), or output to a text file for post-processing.
Figure 4: This sample on-screen plot shows the dose (Sv/year) of a human receptor over 60 years for different contminant pathways.
IMPACT runs on any Windows Operating System..
Ecometrix Inc. is a Canadian-based environmental consulting company, providing a complete range of multidisciplinary services to corporations, law firms, financial institutions, engineering consultants, government and public interest groups. Ecometrix' professional and technical specialists include ecologists, environmental auditors, risk assessors, geochemists, ecotoxicologists, contaminant hydrogeologists, modellers and environmental engineers. Ecometrix assists their clients with permitting and licensing, contaminated site investigations and remediation, environmental assessments, decommissioning and land redevelopment. Ecometrix also offers training courses in the use of Environmental IMPACT, specialized consulting services, and technical support for registered Environmental IMPACT users.
Profile Print Date: 10/96
Catalogue # 11-001
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