Location of volcanoes (red triangles) in Europe 

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... essential tool for supporting the efficient use of information is an information system (Harsh 1998) which allows the collection of data and it’s processing into an easily readable form and shape. Specialized information systems, which generate information useful for decision- making in specific cases, together with presentation in a form that facilitates their use (for example, by providing a range of solutions with an indication of the best solutions in terms of specific criteria), are called decision support systems (DSSs). A decision support system is a system for providing information and knowledge, used for decision making, mostly by executives at the medium or high level and corporate analysts. As a result, the use of DSSs can result in reports and listings that are provided within the framework of management information systems executives (Executive Information Systems – EIS). Therefore, DSSs are often referred to as a specialized – dedicated to specific applications – form of EIS. The same concept of “Decision Support Systems” was described by Morton (1971) for the first time in his dissertation. The term “Decision Support Systems” also appeared in the early 1980s in the United States and Europe, including in Po land. With the start of the construction of microcomputers, DSSs could be made easily available. Over the past years the name of programs for supporting decisions changed from EIS through DSS to BI (Business Intelligence). The three basic components of DSS architecture are (Holsapple, Whinston 1996): a database (or knowledge base or metadata-base, that is, a database of data), a model (for example, a model of the decision-making criteria, user- defined) and a user interface (where the user himself is an essential part of the architecture). DSS technology levels (in terms of software and hard- ware) can include (Laudon, Laudon 2000): − specific applications that will be used by the user. These are parts of an application that allow for a decision on a given problem to be made. − a generator with a software/hardware environment that enables the smooth development of the DSS applica- tion’s specifications and − tools, including software and/or lower-level equip- ment, generators, DSS-containing languages, library functions and linking modules. Good examples of DSSs – in terms of response to crisis events of radiation safety – are ARGOS (see e.g. Hoe et al. 2009) and RODOS (Ehrhardt et al. 1993) systems (delive- red to the NAEA as part of a bilateral agreement by the Danish government and by the European Commission, re- spectively). Since the end of the 1990s, these systems have operated at the Centre for Radiological Events (CEZAR) – a department of NAEA. The systems perform predic tions of possible dispersion of radioactive contamination in the air and food chains, as well as risk assessment of a radiological emergency resulting from radiation events related to nuclear accidents. These and similar systems were prepared as a result of experiences following the accident at Chernobyl; this however, reduces their applica bility to nuclear and radioactive contamination incidents. The RIOT project is designed to assist in determining the response to the occurrence of potential danger to Poland associated with at least two types of risks: 1. Anthropogenic threats, which are primarily results of an incident at a nuclear power plant (or power plants) in neighboring countries, and ways to respond to this threat (see fig. 1, locations of nuclear power stations in Europe, and fig. 2, nuclear power plants at a distance of up to 300 km from the Polish border) as well as other disasters or failures of emission incidents that cause environmental pollution with toxic substances (more generally, dangerous substances); 2. Natural threats and events, such as volcanic eruptions and their impact on general transport safety, in particular air transport (see fig. 3, location of volcanoes in Europe). The main objective of the project is to raise the security of Poland in the context of the nuclear installations in neighboring countries and to enhance the safety and “smoothness” of air traffic over Poland in the case of vol canic eruptions, which may result in the introduction of an interim ban on flights over part of or over the entire area of Poland, together with the ability to respond to other releas- es of hazardous or toxic substances. The specific objective of the project was to develop a decision support system in the event of failure at a nuclear installation or of a volcanic eruption, combined with emissions to the atmosphere of volcanic dust (in future – substances like sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, sulfide or fluoride or ammonia), dan gerous to environment and people. The results, which consist of a decision support system, can be used to identify the reactions in many dimen- sions (social, economic, environmental, etc.) to a possible incident at a power plant (or power plants) or nuclear par ticulate emissions of volcanic gases into the atmosphere. The lack of such a system, generally speaking, may cause delays in the response to crisis situations and, critically this may result in wrong decisions, which can be disas- trous. The details of the concept and implementation of the system are described in the following chapters. This application has been designed to ensure comprehensive support for users in terms of information about the potential consequences of nuclear accidents, as well as of the volcanoes in Europe. In general, the system can be used to prepare estimates of the effects of many incidents and accidents in statu nascendi , such as intense forest fires or road traffic accidents linked to the issue of toxic sub stances (Mazur et al. 2014b). The system was prepared in such a way as to assist the user in the process of making (suggesting) decisions related to such events. The system allows for the interactive definition of the parameters of an event (the location, the duration of the event or time horizon predictions). It also generates reports with the results of the work, in the form of text and graphics with the use of the DISLIN library of procedures (. dislin.de). Hence the system should perform the following actions: − download meteorological input data, prepared for the current day, − parse them into a form and format required by the calculation module, − read-in all user-input parameters, specifying the details of the event (accident, incident) to be assessed, − simulate the dispersion of contamination, − process results as required by the user, − present processed results. The main requirement of the system is an access to the Internet 1 , preferably through the technology of symmetri- cal DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), support for http(s) and ftp, and sufficient space on the user’s server to store the in put data together with the results of the calculations (estimates of pollution dispersion) afterwards. Meteorological data should be downloaded as soon as they are available (i.e. as soon as a new meteorological forecast is prepared). The choice of data source depends on the application. In this particular case the meteorological data are the result of the GFS (Global Forecasting System) model of NOAA. The system is supposed to work in an interactive mode in the graphical user interface (GUI). The interface is as far as possible based on the intuitive use of standard computer accessories (keyboard, mouse/other pointing device). It also allows to control the operation of the system, starting with the simplest tasks (selecting data and input parameters), to obtain the output result (hazard forecast in graphical form), along with the functionality of the system cleanly (log entry, a printout of the results). Window layout was created to be ergonomic and easy to use even for novice users, and – especially for beginners – to minimize the pos sibility of an error preventing further work on the system. The interface has been implemented in the HTA (HTML Application, or a combination of HTML, CSS and Javascript in dynamic HTML), with attached executable application (.exe files and dynamically linked libraries of functions and procedures .dll 2 ). GUI system is designed ergonomically and, at the same time, simple, functional and intuitive. In general, the GUI is divided into several areas with different purposes (workspace, display of the data area, action buttons, etc.), according to the standards of ergonomics (see e.g. Pearrow 2000; Sikorski 2009). In figure 4 an overall view of the user interface is shown. The functionality of the entire interface can be divided into three basic areas: 1. The introduction of input data (panel on the left side of the screen), with elements of a drop-down type list, combo fields to enter the required values, and action buttons. All these elements are programmed in Javascript or CSS, in ...