Nitrite

City of Tallahassee

Nitrite, closely related to the fertilizer chemical nitrate, comes from urban runoff and from fertilizer applied to agricultural lands to pollute drinking water. Nitrite is significantly more toxic than nitrate. Excessive nitrite in water can cause oxygen deprivation in infants and increase the risk of cancer.

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163

Samples

Samples exceeding legal limit (MCL)

Samples exceeding
health guidelines

Testing results - average by year

Year	Average result	Samples taken	Detections	Range of results
2014	ND	27	0	ND
2015	0 ppm	27	1	ND - 0.001000 ppm
2016	0 ppm	27	1	ND - 0.00200 ppm
2017	ND	27	0	ND
2018	ND	27	0	ND
2019	ND	28	0	ND

ppm = parts per million

State and national drinking water standards and health guidelines

EPA Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) 1 ppm

The legal limit for nitrite, established in 1991, was based on the rate of conversion of ingested nitrate into nitrite in adults. This limit may not fully protect against the risk of cancer due to nitrite exposure.

ppm = parts per million

All test results

Date	Result
2014-01-28	ND
2014-01-28	ND
2014-01-28	ND
2014-01-28	ND
2014-01-28	ND
2014-01-28	ND
2014-03-11	ND
2014-03-11	ND
2014-03-11	ND
2014-03-11	ND
2014-03-11	ND
2014-03-12	ND
2014-05-06	ND
2014-05-06	ND
2014-05-06	ND
2014-05-06	ND
2014-05-06	ND
2014-07-22	ND
2014-07-22	ND
2014-07-22	ND
2014-07-22	ND
2014-07-22	ND
2014-07-22	ND
2014-09-09	ND
2014-09-09	ND
2014-09-09	ND
2014-09-09	ND
2015-01-21	ND
2015-01-21	ND
2015-01-21	ND
2015-01-21	ND
2015-01-21	ND
2015-03-10	ND
2015-03-10	ND
2015-03-10	ND
2015-03-10	ND
2015-03-10	ND
2015-05-05	ND
2015-05-05	ND
2015-05-05	ND
2015-05-05	ND
2015-07-21	ND
2015-07-21	ND
2015-07-21	ND
2015-07-21	ND
2015-07-21	ND
2015-09-09	ND
2015-09-09	0.001000 ppm
2015-09-09	ND
2015-09-09	ND
2015-09-10	ND
2015-09-10	ND
2015-09-10	ND
2015-09-10	ND
2016-01-19	ND
2016-01-19	ND
2016-01-19	ND
2016-01-19	ND
2016-01-19	ND
2016-01-19	ND
2016-03-29	ND
2016-03-29	ND
2016-03-29	ND
2016-03-29	ND
2016-03-29	ND
2016-05-03	ND
2016-05-03	ND
2016-05-03	ND
2016-05-03	ND
2016-05-03	ND
2016-07-27	ND
2016-07-27	ND
2016-07-27	ND
2016-07-27	ND
2016-07-27	ND
2016-11-01	ND
2016-11-01	ND
2016-11-01	ND
2016-11-01	0.00200 ppm
2016-11-01	ND
2016-11-01	ND
2017-01-24	ND
2017-01-24	ND
2017-01-24	ND
2017-01-24	ND
2017-01-24	ND
2017-01-24	ND
2017-03-08	ND
2017-03-08	ND
2017-03-08	ND
2017-03-08	ND
2017-03-08	ND
2017-03-08	ND
2017-06-20	ND
2017-06-20	ND
2017-06-20	ND
2017-06-20	ND
2017-06-20	ND
2017-06-20	ND
2017-07-01	ND
2017-07-18	ND
2017-07-18	ND
2017-07-18	ND
2017-07-18	ND
2017-09-14	ND
2017-09-14	ND
2017-09-14	ND
2017-09-14	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-20	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-21	ND
2018-03-22	ND
2018-03-22	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-20	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-03-27	ND
2019-07-17	ND
2019-11-26	ND
2019-12-02	ND