Home / Health / WHO Nitrate Rules Under Fire: Health Risks Ignored?
WHO Nitrate Rules Under Fire: Health Risks Ignored?
3 Nov
Summary
- 85 organizations urge WHO to update 1958 nitrate drinking water standards.
- Outdated limits may link to colorectal cancer and adverse birth outcomes.
- Denmark proposed a 10x lower nitrate limit, WHO's is nearly 10x higher.
Eighty-five global health and environmental organizations have formally called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to revise its long-standing nitrate levels for drinking water. The groups argue that the current guidelines, established in 1958, are outdated and do not account for recent scientific findings on potential health risks associated with nitrates, a common agricultural residue.
The existing WHO standard of 50 milligrammes per litre for nitrates was originally set to prevent "blue-baby syndrome." However, the organizations contend that this limit has not been updated to reflect robust evidence linking chronic, low-level nitrate exposure to significant health problems, including colorectal cancer and adverse birth outcomes. This has prompted calls for the WHO to include nitrate levels in its upcoming review of drinking water guidelines.
These calls coincide with WHO's One Health Day, emphasizing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. The organizations pointed to a Danish government expert panel's findings, which recommended reducing the nitrate limit to 6.0 mg/L, a significant decrease from the current WHO benchmark. Denmark has since committed to this lower standard, underscoring the urgency for global policy reform based on updated scientific evidence.
