Further evidence points toward the cancer risk of nitrate in drinking water across the country, studies find, after a link was found with nitrate contamination and ovarian cancer.
The study, published in May by the senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Rena Jones, found that of the over 30,000 women examined since 1993 across Iowa and North Carolina, 166 ovarian cancers were identified and their risk was elevated with increasing levels of nitrate in drinking water.
Another study conducted by the senior investigator in California found corresponding results.
“The motivation is really to try to better understand if long term consumption of nitrates, say through drinking water or diet, is associated with increased risk of many different types of cancers,” Jones told POLITICO’s E&E News on her intentions with the study. “And we have observed positive relationships for a number of different cancers.”
