Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates
Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates
Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates - Inside Climate News
Nitrates, largely from agricultural runoff, are linked to cancers and birth defects. Research says areas with factory farms have higher levels of risk.
In a first-ever review of nitrate levels in public water systems across the country, the Environmental Working Group found that 6,114 of them—from heavily agricultural rural areas to major cities, including Los Angeles, Phoenix and Philadelphia—have elevated levels of nitrates, affecting 18 percent of the country’s population, or roughly one in five people, between 2021 and 2023.
Some states, including Iowa, which has significant nitrate pollution linked to agriculture, did not end up in the top 10 merely because it has fewer public water systems.