Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Devens Massdevelopment

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.

 

29

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

20

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.340 ppm220.310 ppm - 0.370 ppm
20190.347 ppm32ND - 0.680 ppm
20200.348 ppm64ND - 0.680 ppm
20210.327 ppm64ND - 0.690 ppm
20220.298 ppm64ND - 0.550 ppm
20230.362 ppm65ND - 0.580 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
2018-04-180.310 ppm
2018-04-180.370 ppm
2019-04-100.360 ppm
2019-04-10ND
2019-11-120.680 ppm
2020-05-20ND
2020-05-20ND
2020-05-200.680 ppm
2020-05-200.370 ppm
2020-05-200.660 ppm
2020-05-200.380 ppm
2021-04-280.680 ppm
2021-04-280.290 ppm
2021-04-28ND
2021-04-280.300 ppm
2021-04-280.690 ppm
2021-04-28ND
2022-06-01ND
2022-06-010.370 ppm
2022-06-010.360 ppm
2022-06-010.550 ppm
2022-06-01ND
2022-06-010.510 ppm
2023-04-060.480 ppm
2023-04-060.470 ppm
2023-06-070.580 ppm
2023-06-07ND
2023-06-070.580 ppm
2023-06-070.0610 ppm