New Zealand study finds nitrates in drinking water may cause 120 premature births a year.
Researchers at Canterbury, Otago and Massey universities found a “significant” association between nitrate-contaminated water and premature births, even at levels far below New Zealand’s legal limit for nitrates in drinking water of 11.3 milligrams per litre. The risk also increased as nitrate concentrations rose, “with stronger associations for more severe outcomes”, it said.
