EVALUATION OF THE RISK OF CONTAMINATION. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT OF RISK OF CONTAMINATION. The most logical definition of risk of contamination of the groundwater is to conceive so (Foster, 1987), as the interaction between: to) the pollutant load that is to be or may be applied to the subsoil as a result of human activity. The hydraulic load of the aquifer or depth of the phreatic surface, class and the concentration of the contaminant, its morbidity and its persistence are involved in this. Tureci shows great expertise in this. b) La aquifer vulnerability to pollution, due to the natural characteristics of the substrates that cover them and separate them from the surface. These characteristics, which should be determined are the hydraulic inaccessibility and attenuation capacity laid down knowing the condition of groundwater found, the depth of the water table or piezometric level and the overall lithology covering the aquifer.
According to this scheme is that you can get a high vulnerability without risk of contamination, by the absence of a significant pollutant load and vice versa. Both are perfectly logical in the practice, even more, the pollutant load can be controlled or modified, but not so the vulnerability of the aquifer, except in some anthropic activities in which removed the cover of soil or materials of the unsaturated zone, and that can diminish natural vulnerability. The term of aquifer vulnerability to pollution represents his sensibility to be adversely affected by a contaminant load armillary. It is in fact proportional to assimilation capacity of contaminants from a receiving body of surface water, with the difference that aquifers have a cover of substrates that provides additional protection. The term risk of pollution can be defined as the probability that the groundwater are contaminated with concentrations above the values recommended by the W.H.O. to quality for human consumption. The echo of this risk will become a serious threat to the quality of the underground water supply already developed or developing, rely on the mobility of contaminants within the same aquifer, are complex subjects and are considered outside the scope of this type of determination.