Warren W. Hastings
William O. George
1951
<p>Ground<span> </span>water<span> </span>in<span> many parts of </span>Texas<span> contains </span>nitrate<span> </span>in<span> excess of 20 ppm (parts per million) as NO</span><sub>3</sub><span>. About 3,000 of the 20,000 </span>nitrate<span> determinations made of </span>water<span> from wells </span>in<span> </span>Texas<span> showed more than 20 ppm of </span>nitrate<span>. The public </span>water<span> supplies of 27 </span>Texas<span> towns and cities contained more than 50 ppm of </span>nitrate<span>. Recent medical research indicates that methemoglobinemia or infant cyanosis (“blue babies”) may be caused by </span>nitrate<span> </span>in<span> </span>water<span> used </span>in<span> formula mixtures. Most of the high </span>nitrate<span> </span>in<span> </span>ground<span> </span>water<span> is found </span>in<span> wells less than 200 ft deep and mainly </span>in<span> </span>water<span> from late Tertiary and Quaternary formations; however, high </span>nitrate<span> was found </span>in<span> </span>water<span> from all kinds of rocks of all ages. The presence of high </span>nitrate<span> </span>in<span> </span>ground<span> </span>water<span> appears to be unrelated to rainfall, geography, or cultivation. A hypothesis of bacterial origin of the high </span>nitrate<span> is supported by strong evidence but is weakened by the presence of the correspondingly high content of associated salts. The disappearance of </span>nitrate<span> at depth presents additional problems. </span></p>
application/pdf
10.1029/TR032i003p00450
en
American Geophysical Union
Nitrate in the ground water of Texas
article