Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.

Nitrite

City of Olympia

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.

 

31

Samples

0

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

0

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

 
YearAverage resultSamples takenDetectionsRange of results
2018ND60ND
2019ND60ND
2020N/A00N/A
2021ND60ND
2022ND70ND
2023ND60ND

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
2018-07-12ND
2018-07-12ND
2018-07-12ND
2018-07-12ND
2018-07-12ND
2018-07-12ND
2019-07-23ND
2019-07-23ND
2019-07-23ND
2019-07-23ND
2019-07-23ND
2019-07-23ND
2021-07-204150859ND
2021-07-204150861ND
2021-07-204150857ND
2021-07-204150860ND
2021-07-204150858ND
2021-07-204142006ND
2022-08-024323301ND
2022-08-024323275ND
2022-10-114368568ND
2022-10-114368566ND
2022-10-114360308ND
2022-10-114360309ND
2022-11-294384536ND
2023-07-254482568ND
2023-07-254482571ND
2023-07-254482573ND
2023-07-254482567ND
2023-07-254482570ND
2023-07-254482572ND