Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Nas Whiting Field

Nitrate, a fertilizer chemical, frequently contaminates drinking water due to agricultural and urban runoff, and discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants and septic tanks. Excessive nitrate in water can cause oxygen deprivation in infants and increase the risk of cancer. Click here to read more about nitrate.

 

18

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

17

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20181.93 ppm331.30 ppm - 3.10 ppm
20190.700 ppm330.660 ppm - 0.770 ppm
20200.947 ppm330.870 ppm - 1.10 ppm
20210.660 ppm32ND - 1.20 ppm
20220.927 ppm330.700 ppm - 1.30 ppm
20230.757 ppm330.730 ppm - 0.800 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 0.14 ppm

The EWG health guideline of 0.14 parts per million, or ppm, for nitrate and nitrite is based on the equivalent health guideline for nitrate, as defined in a peer-reviewed scientific study by EWG. This guideline represents a one-in-one-million annual cancer risk level.

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL): 10 ppm

The legal limit for nitrate, established in 1962, was developed to protect infants from acute methemoglobinemia, a life-threatening disorder of oxygen transport in the body. This limit does not fully protect against the risk of cancer and harm to the developing fetus.

ppm = parts per million

All test results

Date Result
2018-03-151.30 ppm
2018-03-153.10 ppm
2018-03-151.40 ppm
2019-08-210.670 ppm
2019-08-210.770 ppm
2019-08-210.660 ppm
2020-07-221.10 ppm
2020-07-220.870 ppm
2020-07-220.870 ppm
2021-05-121.20 ppm
2021-05-120.780 ppm
2021-08-04ND
2022-09-071.30 ppm
2022-09-070.700 ppm
2022-12-070.780 ppm
2023-06-210.730 ppm
2023-06-210.740 ppm
2023-06-210.800 ppm