91 / 2016-06-23 03:25:20

APPLYING THE ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS TO SAND MINING REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

306,10582,2812

In the past few decades, the demand for mining of sand is increasing in many parts of the word. Sand has long been used as aggregate for construction of roads and building. Today, the demand for these materials continues to rise. This paper has been made as a case to address the environmental management of sand mining in the southwest of Iran namely Khuzestan. The purpose of this study is to develop a prioritized list of environmental factors using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The multi criteria decision-making process using expert input is the basis for the study's theoretical foundation. The quantitative descriptive design consists of 3 phases: a) The identification of the potential environmental impact factors, b) formation of a pilot study followed by a specialized survey on to provide their individual pair wise priorities among the identified factors; and c) the application of the AHP, using super decision, to rank each of the factors. Results showed that three main threatening are respectively; soil erosion, damaging vehicles on the roads through throwing stones and make waste and leave them in the area.