Baby blues

Nitrate (measured as Nitrogen) 10 10 "Blue baby syndrome" in infants under six months -life threatening without immediate medical attention. Symptoms Infant looks blue and has shortness of breath. Runoff from fertilizer use leaching from septic tanks, sewage erosion of natural deposits... 

Although NOT is not usually thought of as a "toxic" chemical, it does cause several health problems including methemoglobinemia in infants (blue-baby syndrome) and may also be linked to stomach cancer. Agricultural runoff can lead to significant, potentially harmful, concentrations of NOT in ground or surface water. 

Nitrate in drinking water above the standard poses an immediate threat to children under three months of age. In some infants, excessive levels of nitrate have been known to react with the hemoglobin in the blood to produce an anemic condition commonly known as blue baby. If the drinking water contains an excessive amount of nitrate, it should not be given to infants under three months of age and should not to be used to prepare formula. The standard allows for 10.0 mg of nitrate (as N) per liter of water. Nitrate can be removed from water by ion exchange, RO, or distillation [48]. 

The potentially harmful effects of exposure to high concentrations of nitrates in drinking water result from reduction to nitrites, which combine with haemoglobin to form methaemoglobin (blue baby disease). Additionally, nitrosamine formation can cause cancer and hypertension. In nature, high levels of nutrients, such as nitrates, lead to eutrophication of water sources, which in, severe cases, lead to the extermination of the other aquatic life due the decreased levels of oxygen and luminosity. 

There are cases of bottle-fed infants in the catchment suffering from "blue baby" syndrome. 

High nitrate concentrations can cause methaemoglobinaemia (blue-baby syndrome) in bottle-fed infants. This condition is also associated with the simultaneous presence of bacterial contamination. The primary approach to managing nitrate contamination is prevention, particularly for rural wells, which are the major problem with regard to methaemoglobinaemia. In particular, protection of wells from runoff from fields and siting of manure stores, pit latrines and septic tanks will help to prevent contamination with nitrate and microbial pathogens. 

There has long been concern expressed over the presence of nitrate in drinking water at concentrations exceeding the EC guideline of 50 mg L because of the risk of methaemoglobinaemia (blue baby syndrome). Here,... 

Nitrate is objectionable for causing what is called methemoglobinemia (infant cyanosis or blue babies) in infants. The MCL is 10 mg/L expressed as nitrogen. 

The nitrate nitrogen is the most oxidized form of the nitrogen species. Since it can cause methemoglobinemia, (infant cyanosis or blue babies), it is a very important parameter in drinking water standards. The maximum contaminant level (MCL) for nitrates is 10 mg/L as N. Nitrates may vary in concentrations from 0 to 20 mg/L as N in wastewater effluents. A typical range is 15 to 20 mg/L as N. The nitrate concentration is usually determined by colorimetric methods. 

Serota FT, Bernbaum JC, Schwartz E. The methylene-blue baby. Lancet 1979 2(8152) 1142-3. 

This was reflected in the diseases that Palestinians in Gaza suffer, such as blue babies and renal failure. 

Early cyanosis (blue babies) Late cyanosis (blue kids)... 

Knobeloch L, Salna B, Hogan A, Postle J and Andeeson H (2000) Blue babies and nitrate-contaminated water. Environ Health Perspect 108 675-678. 

Excess nitrate in drinking water can lead to methemoglobinemia ( blue-baby syndrome). It also may be linked to stomach cancer, although this link has not been proven. The EU has set a maximum limit of 50 ppm in drinking water. 

Some of the more important applications in food analysis include nitrates and nitrites in baby food products, excess of which can lead to induce methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome), and the monitoring of sulfite, which is added to many foodstuffs as a preservative and to bleach food starches, and is only recently being linked to serious health effects. Also, residual bromate can be monitored in bakery products from the continuing use of bromate salts as dough conditioners. 

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