Analysis shows Hispanic communities are disproportionately exposed More than 5.6 million Americans are potentially exposed to nitrate in drinking water at levels that could cause health problems, according to a new study.
In this first analysis of its kind, researchers found that water systems with higher nitrate levels also tend to serve communities with higher proportions of Hispanic residents.
"Because at the end of the day, everyone should have access to clean and safe drinking water regardless of your race or where you live."
Nitrate is a drinking water contaminant that can originate from multiple sources including fertilizers, sewage treatment systems, and animal manure.
Using information obtained from state agencies and online databases, Schaider and her colleagues at Silent Spring Institute and Environmental Working Group (EWG) compiled nitrate data for 39,466 public water systems serving more than 70 percent of the U.S. population.
That level is set in order to protect infants from a potentially fatal condition known as "blue baby syndrome," a decrease in the ability of blood to carry oxygen around the body.
"Nitrate is also a good marker for the presence of other contaminants in drinking water," says Schaider.
They also looked at agricultural data including the percent of land used for growing crops and the amount of livestock, since agriculture is a major source of nitrate pollution.
In other words, despite the fact that a large percentage of farmworkers are Hispanic, living in an area with lots of farms is not the only underlying factor, suggesting that other influences are contributing to higher exposures as well.
Living close to other sources of nitrate pollution such as a sewage treatment plant is one potential risk factor, she says.

CUSHING, Iowa (KTIV) – Officials in Cushing, Iowa, have issued a Drinking Water Advisory.
The Cushing Water Supply is recommending residents to boil their water before using for drinking or to use an alternative source.
A planned connection to the distribution system as part of the current water project had a scheduled pressure loss.
Because of potential bacterial contamination, residents are asked to boil their water.
The water may be used for bathing and other similar purposes.

The first nationwide investigation of potential socioeconomic disparities in nitrate concentrations in US drinking water is reported in the open access journal Environmental Health.
The majority of average nitrate concentrations were below 1 mg/L, the level at which nitrate occurs naturally in aquatic systems.
Dr Laurel Schaider, lead author of the study said: "We hypothesized that Hispanic Americans might have higher nitrate in their drinking water because many US farmworkers are Hispanic, and agriculture is a major source of nitrate pollution.
These results suggest that there may be additional reasons why Hispanic residents in the US have higher nitrate in their drinking water."
The authors suggest that previous evidence of possible health effects associated with nitrate concentrations of 5 mg/L and above in drinking water raises concerns for the 5.6 million Americans served by public water supplies with average nitrate concentrations above this level.
Research article: Environmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?
Schaider et al. Environmental Health 2019 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-018-0442-6 For an embargoed copy of the research article please contact Anne Korn at BMC.
Environmental Health is a public health journal serving the public health community and scientists working on matters of public health interest and importance pertaining to the environment.
A pioneer of open access publishing, BMC has an evolving portfolio of high quality peer-reviewed journals including broad interest titles such as BMC Biology and BMC Medicine, specialist journals such as Malaria Journal and Microbiome, and the BMC series.
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The authors found that 99% of community water systems (CWSs) in the United States do not exceed the maximum contaminant level for nitrate specified by the Environmental Protection Agency (10 milligrams per liter).
Hispanic residents more often lived in areas serviced by CWSs that had average nitrate concentrations of 5 mg/L or above.
Dr. Laurel Schaider, lead author of the study said: "We hypothesized that Hispanic Americans might have higher nitrate in their drinking water because many US farmworkers are Hispanic, and agriculture is a major source of nitrate pollution.
However, we saw these associations even after we adjusted our statistical model to take into account agricultural land use.
These results suggest that there may be additional reasons why Hispanic residents in the US have higher nitrate in their drinking water."
Dr. Schaider added: "Our findings suggest that programs intended to help low-income and small public water supplies may not be adequately assisting communities with higher proportions of Hispanic residents, who are more likely to live in areas with high nitrate and thus may be at greater risk of the associated harmful health effects."
Systems relying on groundwater had higher nitrate concentrations compared to systems relying on surface water and were more likely to have high levels of nitrate.
In order to gain a better understanding of nitrate exposure and whether it may be associated with specific demographic factors, the authors compiled nitrate data on 616,591 samples collected from 39,466 CWSs across the United States between 2010 and 2014.
The authors suggest that previous evidence of possible health effects associated with nitrate concentrations of 5 mg/L and above in drinking water raises concerns for the 5.6 million Americans served by public water supplies with average nitrate concentrations above this level.
More information: Laurel A. Schaider et al, Environmental justice and drinking water quality: are there socioeconomic disparities in nitrate levels in U.S. drinking water?, Environmental Health (2019).

Seventeen days later, Slate Falls was back under a drinking water advisory.
Today, Slate Falls is under a new drinking water advisory that’s been in place since Aug. 29.
But Slate Falls isn’t the only First Nation to rescind its long-term advisory, only to have a new advisory issued within weeks or months.
In Slate Falls, the 14-year-old drinking water advisories were actually lifted on Feb. 5, 2018, a month before Philpott visited the community for the opening ceremony.
Indigenous Services said it has provided $325,000 to Sachigo Lake for water system maintenance, including the truck haul system.
Webequie First Nation, which had its long-term advisory lifted four days after Sachigo Lake’s, has also been under an advisory since October.
The First Nation has two reserves, each with its own water treatment plant.
Indigenous Services says that was caused by an equipment failure, but was extended because of “irregular water quality monitoring by the community.” But Chief David Masakeyash said there have been no major repairs to the older treatment plant for years, and some of the equipment is rusting.
“It just can’t go on like this.” Masakeyash said even brief power failures can cause problems, because if the plants are down for even a few hours, they can end up with an advisory in place for a couple of weeks while they test the water and wait for results.
And the government maintains it will lift all long-term advisories on reserves by March 2021.

Seventeen days later, Slate Falls was back under a drinking water advisory.
Today, Slate Falls is under a new drinking water advisory that’s been in place since Aug. 29.
But Slate Falls isn’t the only First Nation to rescind its long-term advisory, only to have a new advisory issued within weeks or months.
In Slate Falls, the 14-year-old drinking water advisories were actually lifted on Feb. 5, 2018, a month before Philpott visited the community for the opening ceremony.
Indigenous Services said it has provided $325,000 to Sachigo Lake for water system maintenance, including the truck haul system.
Webequie First Nation, which had its long-term advisory lifted four days after Sachigo Lake’s, has also been under an advisory since October.
The First Nation has two reserves, each with its own water treatment plant.
Indigenous Services says that was caused by an equipment failure, but was extended because of “irregular water quality monitoring by the community.” But Chief David Masakeyash said there have been no major repairs to the older treatment plant for years, and some of the equipment is rusting.
“It just can’t go on like this.” Masakeyash said even brief power failures can cause problems, because if the plants are down for even a few hours, they can end up with an advisory in place for a couple of weeks while they test the water and wait for results.
And the government maintains it will lift all long-term advisories on reserves by March 2021.

Residents of Adrian, Mich., say they have been complaining to the city for months about the taste and smell of the water Residents of Adrian, Mich., are raising concerns about their drinking water.
According to Michigan Radio, residents say they have been complaining to the city for months about the taste and smell of the water.
A group of residents obtained independent lab results showing cyanobacteria in some drinking water samples, according to Michigan Radio.
Director of Helix Biolab Tom Prychitko, the lab that did the testing, says the difference in results is because Adrian is testing only for the presence of microcystin.
Microcystin is one of the most common toxins produced by cyanobacteria.
According to Michigan Radio, neither the city nor the lab found the toxin in the city’s water.
According to Michigan Radio, microcystin is the most familiar toxin of concern that can be found in drinking water.
I would be cautious about drinking the tap water," Prychitko said to Michigan Radio.
Adrian draws some of its drinking water from Lake Adrian, according to Michigan Radio.
Brittany Dulbs is a resident and an organizer for a group of citizens concerned about water quality in Adrian.

Seventeen days later, Slate Falls was back under a drinking water advisory.
Today, Slate Falls is under a new drinking water advisory that’s been in place since Aug. 29.
But Slate Falls isn’t the only First Nation to rescind its long-term advisory, only to have a new advisory issued within weeks or months.
In Slate Falls, the 14-year-old drinking water advisories were actually lifted on Feb. 5, 2018, a month before Philpott visited the community for the opening ceremony.
Indigenous Services said it has provided $325,000 to Sachigo Lake for water system maintenance, including the truck haul system.
Webequie First Nation, which had its long-term advisory lifted four days after Sachigo Lake’s, has also been under an advisory since October.
The First Nation has two reserves, each with its own water treatment plant.
Indigenous Services says that was caused by an equipment failure, but was extended because of “irregular water quality monitoring by the community.” But Chief David Masakeyash said there have been no major repairs to the older treatment plant for years, and some of the equipment is rusting.
“It just can’t go on like this.” Masakeyash said even brief power failures can cause problems, because if the plants are down for even a few hours, they can end up with an advisory in place for a couple of weeks while they test the water and wait for results.
And the government maintains it will lift all long-term advisories on reserves by March 2021.

ADRIAN — Although officials maintain Adrian’s tap water is safe to drink, residents still have many concerns about taste and odor problems — as well as results from two rounds of in-home testing in December that showed trace amounts of a harmful, blue-green algae in some of the city’s finished tap water.
Complaints go back to last summer, said Brittney Dulbs, an Adrian resident who sought help for testing from Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan, a grassroots environmental group that has been fighting concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, for years.
They are in the vicinity of Wolf Creek, which flows into Lake Adrian — one of the city’s raw water sources, she said.
It is typically produced by one of two forms of cyanobacteria: microcystis and plantothrix.
She said her group plans to have more samples drawn and laboratory tests done, but would not elaborate or provide specifics.
The second batch of sample results, released by the group on Dec. 31, found indications of fecal contamination coming from the tap water of two homes that were tested, and the indication of cyanobacteria in one.
Cyanobacteria also was found in the tap water of one home during the first round of sampling.
“Nobody knows what triggers the bacteria into producing the toxin,” she said.
“We test weekly for microcystins — the indicator organism for blue-green algae that was a concern for Toledo several years ago.
We have not detected any microcystins in our raw water.

The protesters said they were facing scarcity of drinking water in the village for years together Scores of inhabitants of Saidpora, Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district hit the streets on Friday morning and protested against the PHE department “for failing to provide adequate drinking water in the area.” The protesters said they were facing scarcity of drinking water in the village for years together.
The inhabitants of Saidpora village barely 3 kms from the main town Sopore, according to protesters, were being “forced to drink contaminated water from the open streams and ponds as the PHE department has failed to provide them with potable water supply.” “Our children and elderly mostly suffer because they contract water-borne diseases," said Manzoor Ahmad Dar.
The AEE, PHE Sopore acknowledged that there was “shortage of drinking water” in the village.
“This has been brought to our notice earlier and we will work on it soon,” he said, adding that in the meantime the department shall supply clean drinking water to the area through tankers.