WHO urged to review drinking water standards amid nitrate health fears
Eighty-five global health organizations have petitioned the WHO to update drinking water standards for nitrate levels, citing outdated 1958 guidelines. The groups argue that current limits fail to account for modern research linking chronic nitrate exposure to cancer and adverse birth outcomes.
Why it matters
Updating these standards could force significant changes in global agricultural practices and water treatment infrastructure to protect public health.
Geneva, Switzerland, Nov 2, 2026 (AFP) - Dozens of global 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 about potential health risks. In an open letter, 85 organisations, including Greenpeace International and the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), called on the United Nations health agency to include nitrate in an upcoming review of its drinking water guidelines. The toxic effects of nitrates -- a residue left behind by intensive farming -- are widely recognised as particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women. But the current WHO guidelines -- which set the maximum acceptable nitrate level in drinking water at 50 milligrammes per litre as nitrate or 11.3 milligrammes per litre as nitrate-nitrogen -- date back to 1958 and are "outdated", the organisations warned.
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