The dangers from our drinking water, nitrates & nitrites

The nitrates (NO3) / nitrites (NO2)

Nitrate (NO3) is a compound of nitrogen and oxygen found in nature and in many food items in our diet.

Generally, the concentration of nitrates in the ground water is low. The main adult human intake of nitrates is from food rather than from water. Vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, beets and carrots contain significant amounts of nitrate. Drinking water normally contributes only a small percentage of our total nitrate intake.

Nitrates and nitrites are nitrogen-oxygen chemical units which combines with various organic and inorganic compounds. Once taken into the body, nitrates are converted into nitrites.

In European Union the admissible limit of nitrates in water is 50 mg/l, representing a huge risk for health. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses 10 mg/L as N as a mandatory national standard for public supplies under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Health Problems caused by nitrates in water

A review of available peer reviewed literature on nitrate toxicity reveals a near systematic failure of the EPA to incorporate current scientific knowledge into drinking water standards. These shortcomings apply to all the toxic effects of nitrate, including:

• Methemoglobinemia

Nitrate causes methemoglobinemia in infants and this has been the principle health concern of regulators around the globe. The U.S. standard for nitrate is two times weaker than the standard in Germany and South Africa, and nearly twice as permissive as guidelines set by the European Community.

• Cancer

Nitrate is converted to nitrite after ingestion, and this nitrite reacts with both natural and synthetic organic compounds to produce N-Nitroso compounds in the human stomach.

Many of these N-Nitroso compounds are carcinogenic in humans (IARC 1978, NAS 1977), and numerous researchers and a substantial body of literature suggest that high nitrate levels in drinking water may increase cancer risks (Mirvish 1983, Mirvish 1991). To date, the EPA has completely ignored the contribution of nitrate in drinking water to the human cancer risk from N-Nitroso compounds.

Infant exposure, particularly when nitrate levels approach the 10 ppm standard, appears to be especially important.

Recent animal studies have shown that rats exposed to N-Nitrosodiethylamine during infancy are six times more likely to develop cancer than those exposed after weaning (Gray et al 1991).

Human epidemiology studies also have suggested that cancer risks may be higher for those exposed to nitrate contaminated water in the first ten years of life (Cuello 1976).

• Disruption of thyroid function

An important study by Danish researchers found that individuals drinking water with a high nitrate content exhibited a dose related increase in hypertrophy, a condition marked by enlargement of the thyroid, the gland responsible for many of the body's endocrine and hormonal functions (Van Maanen, et al. 1994).

• Birth Defects

At least five studies have indicated a possible link between exposure to nitrite, nitrate and N-Nitroso compounds and birth defects. The effects of exposure were first observed in animal studies, but have since been observed in human epidemiological studies (Dorsch 1984; Knox 1972; Super 1981).

Given the litany of health effects associated with nitrate exposure and the uncertainty that this volume of evidence brings to the prediction of health risks, sound scientific judgment dictates that the U.S. EPA apply a safety factor of at least two to the current 10 PPM standard for nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water.

The EPA should further establish a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal of 3 ppm nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water, equal to the generally accepted maximum background level of uncontaminated groundwater aquifers used for drinking water in the U.S. This would allow the EPA to at least establish the goal of maintaining ground and surface water resources used for drinking water free from added nitrate contamination.

source: EWG

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key words: food, health, cancer, water, nitrates, nitrites