Experts: Nitrate Water Contamination Is Now a Public Health Threat

 If you’re based in Wisconsin, you might want to inquire into the source of your drinking water. Much of the state’s water supply appears to be contaminated with nitrates, naturally occurring ions that can pose a risk to human health when consumed in concentrations that exceed—or, it turns out, even meet—federal standards. The October study that revealed the extent of the problem was published in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment...

Key Takeaways

• A new study estimates that nitrate exposure causes many cases of cancer and poor birth outcomes in Wisconsin annually.
  
  
• Nitrates are toxic chemicals that contaminate much of the state’s groundwater, due to agricultural runoff.
  
  
• A component of many fertilizers, nitrates are present almost anywhere and everywhere farming is practiced.