275 Veterans BLVD Left Side Rutherford NJ 07070-2578 US info@aqua4all.org

Select your language

Imagine a water-scarce world in the West—or at least in an increasingly hot and dry land. Climate change has triggered an extraordinary drought that lasted for decades, leading to alarmingly low reservoir water levels in the region, in some cases approaching or reaching record levels, which has increased the urgency of considering this issue.

More than 220 million children and their families in Africa lack water.

Impact

The impact is staggering: 58% of children in Eastern and Southern Africa and 31% of children in Western and Central Africa live in areas with high or extremely high water vulnerability. These children are more likely to miss school to fetch water. When droughts and floods affect agricultural food production, they are more likely to suffer from malnutrition and stunted growth.

Covid-19 has cast a long shadow over the global dialogue around food and nutrition security and has brought the relationship between public health, poverty, and hunger into the focus of attention.

In addition to the pandemic, other threats to food and nutrition security are also great, from climate change and biodiversity loss to trade wars. However, there is one threat that poses more than any other threat and must be placed at the top of the international development agenda because it affects all aspects of food systems around the world: water risks.

According to the United Nations draft assessment, hunger, drought, and disease will affect tens of millions of people within decades.

The draft assessment reveals the terrible consequences of global warming on human health. After a year of the world pandemic, a report to be issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a frustrating vision for the coming decades: malnutrition, water insecurity, and plague. According to the report, policy choices made now, such as the promotion of plant-based diets, can limit these health consequences-but many are inevitable in the short term.

Nitrate pollution has penetrated the drinking water that is channeled in some of the largest Greek cities, creating new concerns about their possible effects on public health.

As Realnews reveals, the new measurements show that in several urban centers of the country the tap water contains nitrate levels that far exceed the informal limit of 10 mg / l. Officially, in the European Union, but also in Greece, the safe limit provided by the relevant legislation on the content of nitrates in drinking water is 50 mg / l. However, in several EU Member States, legislation or reports from Health Ministries include a 10 mg / l limit as a recommendation for safe consumption, especially if the water is consumed by pregnant women, infants, and toddlers or if it is intended for the preparation of baby meals.

The reason for the concern arising from nitrates and their frequent absorption by the human body through drinking water has been fully captured in research by the international scientific community.

At the same time, the effects of nitrates on human health have been reflected in official EU reports. Due mainly to the excessive use of fertilizers, nitrates are controlled for carcinogenesis, while they have been shown to cause hematological problems, capable of causing even death in infants. “Excess nitrate in drinking water can have health effects, in particular causing methemoglobinaemia, which impedes the normal transport of oxygen from the blood to the tissues, causing cyanosis and, at higher concentrations, suffocation that can be fatal to infants “, is typically mentioned in a report of the European Commission on nitrates, published in May 2018.

In addition, the negative effects have been noted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

“Nitrates enter the food chain as water contaminants, due to excessive agricultural practices.
In humans, nitrates are absorbed directly by the body. They can oxidize natural hemoglobin, reducing the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. “They may also contribute to the formation of so-called nitrosamines, some of which are carcinogenic,” EFSA officials told R.

Measurements

The “R”, in a report published last March, has already highlighted the problem that exists in several – mainly suburban areas of the country.
Concern has been shown for the quality of drinking water in urban centers of the country calling for new measurements.
Scientists call for stricter limits to protect infants and children who are more vulnerable Significant measurements of the Association of Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Companies (EDEYA), but also the local DEYA, have been recorded even exceeding the limit of 50 mg / l.

These are measurements that are posted on the internet.

They concern samples taken in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021, with the results of the analyzes being, unfortunately, disappointing. For example, in a measurement made in the Midea area of ​​Nafplio, the amount found was 137 mg / l, almost three times the allowed level. Exceedances of legal limits were still found in Ermioni and Koutsopodi Argos, while nitrates above the informal limit of 10 mg / l are found in several areas such as Aigio, Filippi Kavala, Kato Fortetsa Heraklion Crete, Agios Nikolaos Levchos Kilkis, and Afanos Lamias.

The new measurements that are published today emerged after the cooperation of “R” with an accredited private laboratory, were carried out between March and May 2021, and concern the tap water from households located in central parts of Greek cities. According to them, exceeding the informal limit of 10mg / l was recorded in one measurement in Patras (14 mg / l), in three measurements in Larissa (15, 18, and 18 mg / l), and in another measurement in Katerini (23 mg / l). At the same time, nitrate content close to the informal limit of 10 mg / l was recorded in Volos (9.7 mg / l), Serres (8.5 mg / l), and Giannitsa (8.9 mg / l).

The network of Thessaloniki

Penetration of nitrates in the drinking water network, however, is also observed in Thessaloniki. In two measurements made in houses located in very central parts of the city, nitrates were detected at levels of 9 mg / l and 7 mg / l. The measurements posted on the internet by EDEVA show that the burden is higher in suburban areas of Thessaloniki, such as Asvestochori in the municipality of Pylaia-Chortiatis (29.1 mg / l) and the municipality of Thermi (19.94 mg / l).

It is worth noting that measurements were made in homes in various areas of Attica, where “undetectable” nitrate levels were detected, except in one case. This is the area of ​​Ekali, where water flows purely from the EYDAP network. In Ekali, the sample, which was also taken from a household tap, showed a content of 37 mg of nitrates per liter of drinking water.

Strict specifications

The determination of the danger posed to the human body by the different levels of nitrates in drinking water is the subject of investigation by scientists around the world. At the European level, in addition to the 50 mg / l limit contained in the relevant European directive, there are a total of 7 Member States (France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Croatia) which advise consumers to avoid consuming water with nitrates above 10 mg / l.

The reason for the recommendation is none other than the issues that seem to arise in terms of children’s health, even from lower levels of nitrates, as the body of young people has not yet developed the appropriate defenses to deal with these harmful elements.

Thus, several scientists report that there is a need for stricter standards, possibly for new limits on safe nitrate content when water is consumed by pregnant women, infants, and toddlers. “Great care should be taken, especially in infants who drink milk made from infant formula and water. “If nitrates are present in the water in large quantities, then they can damage the child’s thyroid or cause other problems in the lungs,” said Dimitris Loutradis, professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

“The maximum permissible levels for various parameters are determined taking into account either the maximum permissible daily intake for toxic compounds or the average daily lifetime dose for carcinogens.

“For the extraction of the limits, the possible effects on sensitive population groups, such as children, have been taken into account”, explains the professor of Hygiene andDirector of the Hygiene Laboratory of the Medical Department of the University of Patras, Michalis Leotsinidis.

“As for water, the assumption is that the average consumption per person is 2 liters per day for adults and 1 liter for children.
In addition, it is estimated that 20% of the maximum intake will be obtained through water and thus the maximum permissible concentration is determined. “With the existing scientific data, the existing limits are considered safe, without this meaning that they are not subject to revision if new data emerge”, says M. Leotsinidis on the issue of the revision of security levels, making special reference to the issue of baby food preparation, even with bottled water.

The issue that may need to be investigated is for those cases where in some table or natural mineral waters the producer company wishes to indicate “suitable for the preparation of baby food” or something similar. In this case, the assumption that 20% of the maximum allowable intake will be obtained through water is differentiated and can reach 50% or even 80%. In this case, the limits must be reduced, not only for nitrates, but also for several of the other parameters, e.g. copper, nickel, etc.

More Articles …

Connect With Us: