Each technical facility is exposed to a risk that will hinder or prevent its proper functioning. Risk assessment is a component of the risk management process in municipal wastewater treatment plants, the purpose of which is to reduce the occurrence of events as well as their resulting effects, which adversely affect the operation of the treatment plant. The authors, having based their work on the identification of risk-related phenomena, estimated the value of risk and determined its acceptability. The result of the work was to obtain a risk matrix – in other words, a risk map with a designated hierarchy. This could then be used as a basis to determine the level of risk that an event triggered. This allows for faster response to risky situations and an optimal selection of remedies.
Risk management, an aspect of which is risk assessment, is a process supporting the proper function of municipal sewage treatment plants. Many factors affect the quality of treated wastewater. Risk assessment, its analysis, and hierarchization permit the elimination of events with the most destructive impacts on the purification process.
Nowadays, risk management applies to every technical facility, branch of the economy, and industry. Due to the characteristics of the analyzed wastewater treatment plant and the specificity of the used processes, one must approach different areas individually. Municipal sewage treatment plants are technical facilities; they function as enterprises and are elements of larger systems-water distribution and sewage disposal. Due to their strategic importance for the environment and human beings, it is essential that they are covered by risk management systems. The basic stage of risk management is its assessment. On its basis, strategic decisions are made and new solutions are introduced. Constant monitoring of the operation of a treatment plant allows for assessment of whether actions taken are correct and whether they cause deterioration of the quality of sewage. In our work, we present a method of risk assessment based on historical data for an existing facility and obtained results.
Municipal sewage treatment plants are specific technical objects that have a serious impact on the environment and humans. Analysis and management of risk allow early detecting and eliminating threats and reduce the negative effects of risk-generating events. Only a properly conducted identification enables the correct functioning of this process. There are many methods of risk identification, some of them are of universal use, others are focused on a given type of company or activity. In the case of municipal sewage treatment plants, one should use several methods at the same time due to the complexity of processes taking place in these objects. The purpose of this paper is to present methods used to identify risks of municipal sewage treatment plants.
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