On criterion of social and environmental risk of reservoir dams

The present research is about the evaluation criteria of the casualty, economic loss, impact of society and environment that the reservoir dams may bring about. As is known, the evaluation risk criterion on the impact of the society and environment is less discussed both at home and abroad. This paper has selected 8 important influencing factors, 4 of which are concerning the threat to the population, city importance, significant facilities, and cultural relics, historical sites, art collectors, rare and precious animals and plants and the other 4 of which are river configuration, animal and its habitat, natural and historical heritages, industrial pollution to the environment. The factors could be quantified by following the expert experience and then integrated into the social and environmental impact indices. An accordance with the Chinese situation, the paper presents a risk criterion of social and environmental preliminary reality by using FN curve as in the evaluation of human casualty in Australia. The primary application results in 6 Chinese reservoir dams show that the risk criterion and its integrated method are practical and reasonable on the whole and it can be applied in reservoir dam risk evaluation in the near future.