1 in 5 Americans may have a dangerous toxin in their tap water.
The report links nitrate exposure to cancer, thyroid disease and birth defects, and says 3,200 systems tested at or above 5 milligrams per liter.
- On Thursday, the Environmental Working Group released a report finding over 62 million Americans served by water systems with nitrate levels at or above 3 milligrams per liter, based on 2021–2023 data across all 50 states.
- Nitrates, nitrogen-rich agricultural compounds, leach into groundwater via rainfall and pose health risks linked to cancers and birth defects, yet federal safety guidelines set in 1962 at 10 milligrams per liter remain unchanged despite studies showing harms at lower concentrations.
- Hotspots include a system near Dinuba, California, testing at 50 milligrams per liter—the nation's highest—while major cities including Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas recorded levels at or above 3 milligrams per liter, indicating widespread contamination.
- Utilities face costly mitigation: Des Moines' ion-exchange plant costs more than $10,000 daily to operate. Experts advise consumers to install reverse-osmosis filters on kitchen taps, which capture up to 99% of contaminants, until federal regulations tighten.
- The Fertilizer Institute contends that attributing elevated nitrates primarily to fertilizer oversimplifies a complex issue, citing septic systems, stormwater, and atmospheric nitrogen deposition as additional sources of contamination.
51 Articles
51 Articles
Hanford Sentinel
Nitrate contaminates the drinking water of millions of Americans, study finds
Nearly one-fifth of Americans relied on drinking water systems with elevated and potentially dangerous levels of nitrate in recent years, according to a new study released Thursday. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group examined test data collected by water systems across…
More than 62 million Americans — about one in five — could be exposed to potentially dangerous nitrate levels in tap water, according to a new report. Nitrates — compounds of nitrogen and oxygen naturally found in air, water, soil and plants — become a health risk when rains cause nitrogen-rich fertilizers used in agriculture to filter into groundwater, streams and rivers, and end up in public water supply systems, miles downstream.
thenewlede.org
Little VillageFarm runoff linked to elevated nitrate levels in drinking water serving more than 60 million Americans
More than 60 million Americans get their water from sources contaminated with elevated levels of nitrate pollution, which is most likely coming from agricultural manure or fertilizer runoff, according to a new analysis. The report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) used federal drinking water data and found that roughly 6,114 US water systems that serve roughly 62.1 million people had nitrate levels at or above 3 milligrams per liter (m…
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