Purdue News
Purdue News
According to Cheri Janssen, an environmental quality technical writer for agronomy, residents should bring a one-cup sample in a clean container for testing. The free test will be conducted at the expo, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at a farm near Shelbyville.
Experts will test the water sample with an indicator test that broadly measures nitrate levels almost immediately. "It's similar to a litmus test. Depending on the degree of the test's color, we'll be able to tell how much nitrate is present," Janssen said.
Sources of nitrate in well water include fertilizers, malfunctioning septic systems, industrial waste and manure. Wells that are old and shallow are at the most risk for a high level of nitrate. The acceptable level of nitrate is 45 milligrams per liter. If the level of nitrate is too high, Janssen said, it could cause problems with infants 6 months old or younger.
"If there's a large amount of nitrate in drinking water, it could cause methemoglobinemia," Janssen said. "This is a blood disease that blocks the hemoglobin's ability to carry oxygen in the body. It's also called 'Blue Baby Disease.'"
If well owners find that the level of nitrate in their water is too high, they should take another sample to a lab that can run a complete analysis on the sample, she said.
Janssen said reverse osmosis and distillation often are used to remove nitrate from water, but boiling will not rid drinking water of the substance.
The Land Care Expo will be on the farm of Jeff and Trisha Stevens. Take Interstate
74 to Exit 123, which is eight miles south of Shelbyville. The road loops back two
miles to County Road 725 E. The farm is on the left of the road.
CONTACT: Janssen, (765) 494-8043
Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
