Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrite

Westwood S/d

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.

 

16

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND30ND
2019ND40ND
2020ND10ND
2021ND20ND
2022ND30ND
2023ND30ND

ppm = parts per million

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

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
2018-01-23ND
2018-04-26ND
2018-11-20ND
2019-01-22ND
2019-05-09ND
2019-08-07ND
2019-10-23ND
2020-01-27ND
2021-02-16ND
2021-07-22ND
2022-02-28ND
2022-06-14ND
2022-10-19ND
2023-03-02ND
2023-05-17ND
2023-07-18ND