Cut down ‘outdated’ nitrate limit in drinking water, health and environmental groups tell WHO

Dozens of international health and environmental organisations called on the World Health Organization on Tuesday to revise decades-old standards for nitrate levels in drinking water, arguing they do not reflect recent scientific evidence of possible harm. In an open letter, signed by 85 organisations, including Greenpeace International, the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) and the European Environmental Bureau, the groups called on the United Nations health agency to include nitrate in an upcoming review of its drinking water guidelines. Nitrates and nitrites are naturally occurring compounds composed of nitrogen and oxygen. They are found throughout the environment – in soil, water and many foods, including meat – and are also used as food additives. Human activities such as the use of agricultural fertilisers, manure runoff and failing septic systems elevate nitrate levels in water, making it harmful to humans, in particular children and pregnant women.