Drinking water in Philippines, Thailand contaminated with nitrates, Greenpeace says

The study shows that drinking water from 30% of all groundwater
wells   sampled in both countries showed nitrates levels above the
World Heath   Organization safety limit of 50 mg l-1 of nitrate
(NO3-). This nitrate   pollution was highest in the most intensive
crops, with nitrate levels 3   times the WHO safety limit (>150
mg l-1) in asparagus farms in   Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Groundwater
wells in vegetable farming areas in   Benguet, Philippines were
also polluted with nitrates levels above WHO   limits.

“Greenpeace has been sending out warning signals that the
quality of   freshwater sources in both the Philippines and
Thailand is declining,   and this study is yet another shocking
example of how water protection   measures are inadequate. The
nitrates pollution that we discovered in   farming areas is
particularly worrisome–communities think that the   water they
drink everyday is clean because physically, it doesn’t smell   bad
or look bad. But it is actually laced with nitrates from
fertilizers   which people don’t normally associate with
pollution,” said Greenpeace   Campaigner Daniel Ocampo.

In the Philippines, the Greenpeace Water Patrol
investigation looked at   crops and farming practices in key
agricultural areas, Benguet and   Bulacan provinces, surveying and
testing nitrate levels in water from   wells and streams around
farms, and interviewing farmers and townsfolk.   Five out of the 18
artesian wells in Benguet and Bulacan contained   nitrates levels
well above the WHO drinking water safety limit. The   highest
levels were found in groundwater in Buguias, Benguet at 50
percent above the WHO safety limit.

“Clean and safe drinking water is a basic human need. We believe
that it is possible to produce food without compromising the
integrity of our water systems.”

Beau Baconguis

Greenpeace Southeast Asia Toxics Campaigner

Examples of water pollution with nitrates were found in
intensive   farming areas in Thailand’s Central Plain (Kanchanaburi
and Suphanburi).   Samples taken from Kanchanaburi show a clear
example of heavy fertilizer   use related to water pollution with
nitrates in asparagus farms. In six   out of 11 asparagus farms
surveyed, nitrates levels in groundwater wells   were above the WHO
drinking water safety limit, and even in the other   five wells
nitrate levels showed evidence of pollution. In Suphanburi,   two
of the five wells in farms sampled had nitrates levels higher
than   the WHO safety limit

According to Reyes Tirado of Greenpeace Research Laboratories in
the   University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, and author of the
report,   the results of the study indicate that the nitrates
pollution in   drinking water sources sampled in the study
correlates with intensive   farming practices where nitrogen
fertilizers are applied in excess.   Nitrates pollution could have
serious health implications for the local   populations.
Groundwater is the main source of drinking water in the   selected
sampling sites.

Drinking water with high levels of nitrate can cause serious
health   problems, especially in children. The greatest risk of
nitrate poisoning   is ‘blue baby syndrome’ or methemoglobinemia,
which occurs in infants   given nitrate-laden water, and
particularly affects babies under four   months of age. Blue-baby
syndrome can provoke cyanosis, headache,   stupor, fatigue,
tachycardia, coma, convulsions, asphyxia and ultimately   death.
Drinking water contaminated with nitrates also has a potential
role in developing cancers of the digestive tract, and has also
been   associated with other types of cancer such as non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma,   bladder and ovarian cancers.

“This case shows that drinking water sources are threatened not
just by   pollution from industrial sources like factories, but
also by chemical   intensive agricultural practices. Unless the
government implements   policies to ensure the proper use and
application of fertilizers in   agriculture, we will lose more of
our valuable water resources.   Government agencies must implement
stronger measures to protect our   groundwater from pollution from
agricultural chemicals. Nitrate   pollution must consistently be
monitored and prevented, and the   dangerous practice of over-using
fertilizers in intensive agriculture is   a serious threat that
must be stopped; instead fertilizer subsidies must   be phased out
and fertilizer reduction policies implemented,” said   Natwipha
Ewasakul, Greenpeace Campaigner based in Thailand.

As part of its regional water project launched last September,
Greenpeace has been highlighting freshwater sources in Thailand and
the   Philippines that are being threatened by pollution.

“Clean and safe drinking water is a basic human need. We believe
that it   is possible to produce food without compromising the
integrity of our   water systems. To protect our dwindling
freshwater resources,   agriculture–just like industries–must
focus on pollution prevention.   Government must adapt a thorough
approach at water pollution prevention   and look at policies that
will eliminate harmful chemicals from source,   that is, the
production process itself,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia   Toxics
Campaigner Beau Baconguis.