Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

Charlotte Hall

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.

 

19

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

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

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
2018-03-182306348002ND
2018-03-182306348003ND
2018-03-182306348001ND
2019-02-043014690001ND
2019-02-043014690002ND
2019-02-043014690003ND
2019-02-043014690004ND
2020-05-2049280BND
2020-05-2049280AND
2020-05-2049280ND
2021-06-0354176ND
2021-06-0354176_AND
2021-06-0354176_BND
2022-09-2661829_AND
2022-09-2661829_BND
2022-09-2661829_CND
2023-08-0466635ND
2023-08-0466635-AND
2023-08-0466635-BND