Every action that the establishment produces or maight produce on the anthropic or physic mediumm its an environmental impact.

Environmental impacts are clasify into different ways according to the need of their study; in that way they can be local, regional or global temporary or permanent, reversible or not reversible, etc

The determination of an establishment or proyect´s environmental impact, its made trough a doble entrance matrix, where impacts and afectated mediumms are considered separately.

An environmental impact can afectate or modify:

Ground, modifying its properties or incorporating polluting elements.
Atmosphere , incorporating polluting elements, such as gases or noises, or modifying atmospheric variables.
Superficial water, incorporating polluters or changing its wealth.
Underground water, incorporating polluters or modifying the levels.
Inhabitants life quality, afectating work conditions, comunications,health, landscape, properties valorization,etc.

An inpact can be positive or negative, deppending if they improves or deteriorate the existing conditions, or neutral, if it does not alterate those conditions.

Negative impacts, particullary, must be neutralized, mitigating them .