Environmental risk assessment of offshore produced water discharges using a hybrid fuzzy-stochastic modeling approach

In recent years, regulators and environmental groups have identified the large volumes of wastewater discharged through offshore petroleum production activities as an issue of concern. In this paper, fuzzy set theory coupled with Monte Carlo analysis have provided a stochastic simulation of pollutant dispersion for the prediction of the environmental risks associated with produced water discharges. With the application of the fuzzy set to data drawn from previous risk-assessment studies, the model allowed the evaluation of various existing pollution standards for marine environments. The present modeling method was validated against data for lead (Pb) levels in the area adjacent to an offshore petroleum facility located on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, Canada through a multi-year field expedition. The proposed risk-assessment approach contributes to the implementation of effective assessment and management of produced water discharges in the offshore water environment.