WHO urged to review drinking water standards amid nitrate health fears

An open letter signed by 85 global health and environmental organisations has urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to revise its decades-old standards for nitrate levels in drinking water. The organisations, which include Greenpeace International and the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), argue that the current WHO guidelines, which set the maximum acceptable nitrate level in drinking water at 50 milligrammes per litre as nitrate or 11.3 milligrammes per litre as nitrate-nitrogen, are outdated and do not reflect recent scientific evidence about potential health risks.

The letter was sent to coincide with WHO's annual One Health Day, which aims to raise awareness about the interconnected health of humans, animals, plants and shared ecosystems. The organisations point to studies linking nitrate in drinking water, at levels well below the current WHO limit, to colorectal cancer and premature birth.

They also highlight that surface water models indicate that hundreds of millions of people globally are exposed to elevated nitrate levels.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.