Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrate

City of Dorchester

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.

 

12

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
20180.0435 ppm220.0283 ppm - 0.0587 ppm
20190.0384 ppm220.0376 ppm - 0.0392 ppm
20200.0446 ppm220.0320 ppm - 0.0572 ppm
20210.0490 ppm220.0400 ppm - 0.0579 ppm
20220.0489 ppm220.0441 ppm - 0.0537 ppm
20230.0524 ppm220.0408 ppm - 0.0639 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 Lab ID Result
2018-07-05Q18266280070.0587 ppm
2018-07-05Q18266280130.0283 ppm
2019-08-13Q19542350010.0376 ppm
2019-08-13Q19542350080.0392 ppm
2020-10-15Q20404990080.0320 ppm
2020-10-15Q20404990090.0572 ppm
2021-09-20Q21255980070.0579 ppm
2021-12-13Q21349470060.0400 ppm
2022-06-29Q22183700040.0441 ppm
2022-10-19Q22318290010.0537 ppm
2023-08-23Q23357300050.0408 ppm
2023-10-31Q23465270050.0639 ppm