Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Fairmount

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.

 

22

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND60ND
2019ND40ND
2020N/A00N/A
2021ND40ND
2022ND60ND
2023ND20ND

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 Lab ID Result
2018-03-26L7011753_9ND
2018-03-26L7011753_8ND
2018-06-07L7035827_7ND
2018-06-07L7035827_8ND
2018-12-11L7089612_3ND
2018-12-11L7089612_4ND
2019-03-28L7114530_1ND
2019-03-28L7114530_2ND
2019-06-24L7138095_1ND
2019-06-24L7138095_2ND
2021-04-143169821002ND
2021-04-143169821001ND
2021-12-150190012_121521_TP02ND
2021-12-1632118217002ND
2022-02-093226764001-002ND
2022-02-093226765003-004ND
2022-03-033230832001ND
2022-03-033230832003ND
2022-08-173259089001ND
2022-08-183259089002ND
2023-03-303295465001ND
2023-03-303295465002ND