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The Environmental Protection Agency has set a maximum of 10 mg/L nitrate concentration in drinking and surface waters. [3] When nitrogen in the form of nitrate is in excess, it can lead to a dead zone. A dead zone is a body of water that has a depleted oxygen concentration that is low and can lead to the suffocation of animals. [4]
Women who consume water with nitrates over 5 mg/L are at a higher risk of developing thyroid cancer. [25] This 5 mg/L level is 5 mg below the federally accepted limit. When consumed, nitrate can compete with iodine in the body to be taken up by the thyroid. When the thyroid intakes nitrogen instead of iodine, its function may be impaired. [26]
In 2011 EPA reiterated the need for states to fully develop their nutrient standards, noting that drinking water violations for nitrates had doubled in eight years, that half of all streams nationwide had medium to high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, and harmful algal blooms were increasing. The agency set out a framework for states to ...
While high nitrate levels in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome, a condition that can be fatal to infants 6 months and younger if not treated, some studies also have linked even moderate ...
Human health effects of eutrophication derive from two main issues excess nitrate in drinking water and exposure to toxic algae. [43] Nitrates in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome in infants and can react with chemicals used to treat water to create disinfection by-products in drinking water. [ 44 ]
Drinking water quality standards in the European Union stipulate less than 50 mg/L for nitrate in drinking water. [19] The linkages between nitrates in drinking water and blue baby syndrome have been disputed in other studies. [20] [21] The syndrome outbreaks might be due to other factors than elevated nitrate concentrations in drinking water. [22]
Nitrate concentrations in 1,000 Norwegian lakes had doubled in less than a decade. Rivers in the northeastern United States and the majority of Europe have increased ten to fifteen fold over the last century. Reactive nitrogen can contaminate drinking water through runoff into streams, lakes, rivers, and groundwater.
Lingering nitrate in drinking water poses a plethora of health risks, and both nitrate and nitrous oxide have major environmental impacts. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Some hazards include, carcinogenic nitrite ions in drinking water, or eutrophication caused by oxidized nitrogen seeding algal blooms .