High Nitrate Levels Can Harm Infants and Livestock
We have received a number of
reports about the high levels of
nitrates in water from farm wells
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SHENK'S FARM SERVICE
R.D.4, Lititz, Pa.
and springs, according to Max
Smith, Lancaster County ag
agent.
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The comsumption of such
water may be poisonous or even
fatal to infants and there is some
indication that high nitrates may
be affecting the health of both
poultry and livestock.
The primary concern about this
contaminant seems to be for
unborn babies and infants up to
six months old. For humans over
six months of age it does not have
any detrimental effect.
There are mixed opinions
concerning nitrates in livestock
water and, in the absense of more
conclusive evidence, we believe
the standards set for humans
should be observed for livestock.
The U.S. Public Health Service
Standards indicates that the
nitrate (NOS) concentration in
water for human consumption
should not exceed 45 parts per
million (ppm) or miligrams per
liter (mg-1). This is the
equivalent of 10 ppm of nitrogen
(N).
The practice of expressing
concentrations of nitrogen as N
or nitrates as NO3 has created
some confusion. When dne is
talking, whether giving advice or
making public statements, about
nitrate pollution we must be
careful to use the correct ter
minology.
We usually associate nitrates in
well water with bacterial con
tamination. Whenever a
laboratory test indicates a high
nitrate level, a sample of the
water should be tested for
coliform bacteria to determine if
it is safe to drink, says Smith.
In most instances, the nitrates
in farm wells can be traced to
contaminants entering the well
through surface drainage, a
porous stone lining in the well, or
a leaking well casing.
High levels of nitrates are
found more often in shallow wells
near the barnyard than in deep
wells in protected aquifers.
Ph. 626-4355
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 30,1971 —9
Occasionally the pollution can
be attributed to septic tanks,
abandoned wells left unsealed,
and silo drainage.
There is no evidence to support
the popular belief that nitrogen is
leached from commercial fer
tilizers spread on farm land to
produce better crops.
There is no simple or inex
pensive method of reducing or
removing nitrates from domestic
water supplies. The best solution
is to abandon and seal off a
polluted well and drill a new one
into a different aquifer or look for
an alternate source of supply.
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At least one company is
producing a reverse osmosis unit
that will remove nitrates and
produce a small quantity of
potable water for a farm home,
but it does not have enough
capacity to provide drinking
water for a livestock operation.
There is a great need for further
research in this area.
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