Nitrate restrictions no more than 'unjustified paranoia'

摘要

THE permitted level of nitrates in drinking water could easily be doubled without any risk to human health. What's more, there could be beneficial health effects of doing so, in addition to huge savings for farmers and the water industry as a result of not having to keep the nitrate level down. European restrictions currently require nitrates in water to be kept below 50 part per million (ppm), at a cost to the water industry of over a billion pounds a year. Controls on fertiliser application are imposed on many farmers in the UK as part of the programme to control nitrate levels.