My Department Head sent this to me and I thought some of you would find it interesting. Last month I attempted to convince some state Extension faculty that it was appropriate for my Breastfeeding Support Project to apply for USDA Food Safety monies because promoting breastfeeding was a food safety issue. Most were skeptical and the powers to be were sold on another project. Wish they could have seen this. [Image] > > Nitrate in Drinking Water Threatens Infant Health > > Tens of Thousands of Newborns Drink Water Contaminated with Nitrate > at Levels above Federal Health Standards > > Problem Affects Municipal Water Systems and Private Wells > > More Contamination Seen if Congress Weakens Water Laws > > Washington D.C. -- Each year, tens of thousands of newborn babies > are fed infant formula reconstituted with drinking water that is > contaminated with potentially deadly levels of nitrate. The > contamination, primarily the result of excessive use of farm > fertilizer, pollutes drinking water supplies in 40 states, according > to Pouring It On, a report released today by the Environmental > Working Group (EWG), an environmental research group in Washington > D.C. > > When present in drinking water at levels at or above federal health > standards, nitrate poses an immediate risk of methemoglobinemia, the > potentially deadly "blue baby syndrome". According to Dr. Burton > Kross of the University of Iowa's Center for International Rural and > Environmental Health, "A significant number of unexplained infant > deaths in the United States are directly attributable to nitrate > contamination of drinking water." > > In 1994, about 500,000 people drank tap water from systems that > officially violated the nitrate maximum contaminant limit (MCL). In > an average year, another half million people drink from systems that > serve water contaminated at levels that repeatedly exceed the > federal nitrate standard. These systems are not considered in > violation of the nitrate standard if the water utility warns the > public that the water is unfit for pregnant women and infants. As > Pouring It On is being released, infants and pregnant mothers in two > Illinois towns, Danville (pop. 38,000) and Georgetown (pop 3,670) > have been provided with bottled water for the last three weeks due > to nitrate contamination from excessive use of farm fertilizer. > > And the nitrate contamination problem is growing. More than 12 > million people drink water from systems where some part of the water > supply tested above the nitrate standard in the past three years. > Often these systems provide water that is contaminated at levels > very close to the nitrate standard. "The public pays at least $200 > million per year to protect infants from nitrate pollution in > drinking water, by digging new wells, blending contaminated water > with cleaner water, or paying for expensive treatment facilities. > The polluters, primarily farmers, pay nothing at all," said Brian > Cohen, an analyst with EWG, and lead author of the report. "The good > news is that farmers can solve the problem and actually save money > by better fertilizer and manure management," Cohen added. > > An additional 3.8 million people drink from private wells that are > contaminated with nitrate above the federal standards. These wells > present unique problems because they often are not adequately > monitored. In ten states, more than one private well in ten is > contaminated with nitrate above federal health standards. > > Agriculture is responsible for 80 percent of nitrate pollution in > the environment. "What makes this situation even more compelling is > that nearly all of the actual cases, and much of the threat, of > methemoglobinemia is preventable through better management of farm > fertilizer and manure," said Richard Wiles, Vice President for > Research at EWG. "But, there is no authority under any current or > proposed federal law, including a recent Senate passed version of > the Safe Drinking Water Act, that gives public health authorities > the power to control this pollution at the source," Wiles said. > > The report also details weaknesses in the nitrate drinking water > standard. The federal drinking water standard for nitrate has no > margin of safety. Documented cases of blue baby syndrome have > occurred after exposure to levels of nitrate in water less than the > U.S. standard of 10 parts per million. In a 1992 near-fatal case of > blue baby syndrome in Wisconsin, an infant who was initially > misdiagnosed, was hospitalized with methemoglobinemia after being > fed drinking water contaminated at levels just below the federal > health standard. Germany, Denmark, and South Africa have a nitrate > standard more than twice as protective as the U.S. standard. > > Pouring It On: Nitrate Contamination of Drinking Water. > > Return to Environmental Working Group Home Page. -Laura [log in to unmask] Laura Aldag, M.S.,R.D. Assistant in Extension "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed its the only thing that has" Margaret Mead