Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrite

Portland

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
2018ND40ND
2019ND40ND
2020ND40ND
2021ND40ND
2022N/A00N/A
2023N/A00N/A

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
2018-09-10LLI04119ND
2018-09-10LLI04120ND
2018-09-11LLI04532ND
2018-09-11LLI04531ND
2019-09-30LLI68340ND
2019-09-30LLI68341ND
2019-09-30LLI68342ND
2019-11-05LLI74934ND
2020-09-14ND
2020-09-14ND
2020-09-14ND
2020-09-29ND
2021-09-07ND
2021-09-07ND
2021-09-07ND
2021-09-14ND