GIS and Decision Support System techniques for the emergency management in at-risk industrial areas | Tecniche GIS e Sistemi di Supporto alle Decisioni per la gestione delle emergenze in aree a rischio industriale

Industrial risk is related to storing, employing and producing hazardous chemicals. The area called "Isola Bergamasca" (Lombardy Region, Italy) is a consortium of 24 Municipalities strongly exposed to this type of risk both for the presence of several industrial activities and the high urbanization of its territory. The aim of this work is to apply Geographic Information System and Decision Support System technology to emergency planning in the study area. In this methodological context, real-time emergency management is the last of four steps: identification of potentially dangerous events; inventory of goods and resources within the involved area; definition of Risk Scenarios; development of an emergency management workflow. In this approach the use of a GIS integrated with DSS represents a valuable instrument for storing, analyzing and representing geographical data and for emergency management: by using "workflow management" tools it is possible to make procedures 'automatic', so that emergency managers can describe and control the running of workflows, the availability of resources and people with the support of Information and Communication Technology devices, with the aim of optimizing time and increasing the efficiency of intervention.