Why are nitrates in drinking water an important public health issue?
High levels of nitrates in drinking water can cause serious illness and sometimes death. Infants are particularly prone to the effects of nitrate exposure because the body changes nitrates to nitrites, and nitrites subsequently interfere with the oxygen-carrying capacity of the child’s blood by binding to hemoglobin. This can be an acute condition in which health deteriorates rapidly over a period of days. Symptoms include shortness of breath and blueness of the skin.
