Nitrite

Lee County Utilities

Nitrite, closely related to the fertilizer chemical nitrate, comes from urban runoff and from fertilizer applied to agricultural lands to pollute drinking water. Nitrite is significantly more toxic than nitrate. Excessive nitrite in water can cause oxygen deprivation in infants and increase the risk of cancer.

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Samples

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

Year	Average result	Samples taken	Detections	Range of results
2013	N/A	0	0	N/A
2014	0.0118 ppm	6	6	0.00200 ppm - 0.0310 ppm
2015	0.0136 ppm	5	5	0.00500 ppm - 0.0390 ppm
2016	0.0314 ppm	5	5	0.00700 ppm - 0.0950 ppm
2017	0.0252 ppm	6	4	ND - 0.113 ppm
2018	0.0139 ppm	8	6	ND - 0.0550 ppm
2019	0.0167 ppm	6	6	0.00300 ppm - 0.0600 ppm

ppm = parts per million

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) 1 ppm

The legal limit for nitrite, established in 1991, was based on the rate of conversion of ingested nitrate into nitrite in adults. This limit may not fully protect against the risk of cancer due to nitrite exposure.

ppm = parts per million

All test results

Date	Result
2014-02-05	0.00700 ppm
2014-03-03	0.00200 ppm
2014-04-16	0.00900 ppm
2014-04-16	0.00600 ppm
2014-10-02	0.0160 ppm
2014-10-08	0.0310 ppm
2015-02-03	0.00900 ppm
2015-02-04	0.00500 ppm
2015-04-06	0.00600 ppm
2015-10-06	0.00900 ppm
2015-10-12	0.0390 ppm
2016-02-02	0.00800 ppm
2016-02-03	0.00800 ppm
2016-04-07	0.00700 ppm
2016-10-03	0.0390 ppm
2016-10-04	0.0950 ppm
2017-02-01	0.00700 ppm
2017-03-02	0.0140 ppm
2017-04-03	ND
2017-04-03	ND
2017-10-05	0.0170 ppm
2017-10-05	0.113 ppm
2018-02-06	0.00900 ppm
2018-02-07	0.01000 ppm
2018-04-02	0.0220 ppm
2018-06-11	ND
2018-07-09	ND
2018-10-01	0.01000 ppm
2018-10-01	0.00500 ppm
2018-10-16	0.0550 ppm
2019-01-07	0.00300 ppm
2019-02-06	0.01000 ppm
2019-04-01	0.00800 ppm
2019-08-12	0.00300 ppm
2019-10-07	0.0600 ppm
2019-10-07	0.0160 ppm