Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrite

Wapella

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.

 

6

Samples

1

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.430 ppm110.430 ppm
20190.280 ppm110.280 ppm
20200.220 ppm110.220 ppm
20210.320 ppm110.320 ppm
20220.160 ppm110.160 ppm
20231.08 ppm111.08 ppm

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 Lab ID Result
2018-07-1618G0557-010.430 ppm
2019-07-2219G0695-010.280 ppm
2020-09-0820I0329-010.220 ppm
2021-08-2521H1317-010.320 ppm
2022-08-3122I0011-010.160 ppm
2023-08-0623H0360-011.08 ppm