To enhance the ability to identify and respond to air pollution incidents in the Greater Kaohsiung area, this project uses a geographic information system to handle environment-related data via relevant operating procedures. In addition to making environmental data instantly available to the Environmental Protection Bureau, the system also provides support to environmental protection-related and administrative activities. This project aims to develop a control query application system by integrating geographic information system technology and environmental protection tasks, which will provide the ability to carry out queries and analysis on a variety of environmental information and their spatial relationships, thus providing support for the decision-making process. In addition, the relevant information can be provided to other units and agencies in a unified fashion, which helps to simplify the information delivery process and enhance productivity in environmental protection work. By integrating the data transmission and analytical capabilities of existing air quality monitoring stations, CEMs, remote video cameras (CCTVs), FTIR, stationary pollution source databases, public safety survey stations and diffusion simulation, we are able to acquire comprehensive real-time air quality information in the Greater Kaohsiung area, which is essential for the environmental decision-making system and emergency warning and readiness. In 2013 our team completed the construction of the Decision Support Management System. We have also developed an Incident Response Decision Support Subsystem, including back-end support servers and terminal tablet devices. The aim is to allow authorized users to designate an incident, if and when it occurs, as an officially monitored disaster at the back-end support server, and to transmit critical information to terminal tablets wirelessly. On-site responders will then be able to operable the tablets and obtain the information required for their response and disaster relief efforts, such as basic background information, data for identifying pollutants, and reports on and responses to past incidents. The Decision Support Management System has significantly shortened the time required for querying incident response data by decision makers, and has thus improved the efficiency of incident handling. Before the decision support system went online, when an air pollution incident occurred, it would require at least 30 minutes to look up and collect and convey the following information: stationary pollution sources, factory permits, manufacturing process information, properties of hazardous materials, inspection vehicle dispatch, and evacuation and relocation of sensitive receivers. Following the deployment of the decision support system, the above information can now be obtained in as little as 5 minutes. This has reduced the time required to look up response information, thus improving the decision maker's efficiency in responding to incidents and lowering the risks of both environmental pollution and casualties. In addition, the decision support system contains information on nearby sensitive receivers, and the dispersion simulation analysis can provide the necessary mechanisms for evacuation. This means that the system is capable of reducing casualties in the vicinity of disaster areas, and which indirect leads to increased economic benefit.

Air quality management center;remote camera;continuous automatic stock monitoring;air quality monitoring station;stationary pollution source;Decision Support Systems