[Comparative analysis of two different methods for risk assessment of groundwater pollution: a case study in Beijing...

Groundwater contamination risk assessment has important meaning to groundwater contamination prevention planning and groundwater exploitation potentiality. Recently, UN assessment system and WP assessment system have become the focuses of international research. In both systems, the assessment framework and indices were drawn from five aspects: intrinsic vulnerability, aquifer storage, groundwater quality, groundwater resource protection zone and contamination load. But, the five factors were built up in different ways. In order to expound the difference between the UN and WP assessment systems, and explain the main reasons, the UN and WP assessment systems were applied to Beijing Plain, China. The maps constructed from the UN and WP risk assessment systems were compared. The results showed that both kinds of groundwater contamination risk assessment maps were in accordance with the actual conditions and were similar in spatial distribution trends. However, there was quite significant different in the coverage area at the same level. It also revealed that during the system construction process, the structural hierarchy, relevant overlaying principles and classification method might have effects on the groundwater contamination risk assessment map. UN assessment system and WP assessment system were both suitable for groundwater contamination risk assessment of the plain, however, their emphasis was different.