WHO urged to review drinking water standards amid nitrate health fears
Global health organizations are urging the WHO to update 1958 standards for nitrate levels in drinking water. They argue that current limits are outdated and fail to account for modern research linking low-level exposure to cancer and birth complications.
Why it matters
Could lead to stricter global water quality regulations, impacting agricultural practices and public health infrastructure.
GENEVA - 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 organizations, 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50 milligrammes per litre as nitrate or 11.3 milligrammes per litre as nitrate-nitrogen -- date back to 1958 and are 'outdated', the organisations warned.That level was set specifically to prevent so-called 'blue-baby syndrome' -- a deadly…
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