Water Issues in Denmark

[kiwibird]

Where do you think the worst places are for fertilizer water pollution?
E. Jeppesen: "The case is very bad in Denmark and Holland. It is the worst when
there are so many pigs and cows. In most places manure is a source but here, in
Denmark, we have such big pig farms, it is a waste. Another problem we have is
we use too much phosphorous. The phosphorous content is too high in the soil
because it is fixed to the soil stronger than nitrogen. Phosphorous is either in
organic or mineral form so where nitrogen is taken up easily a lot of phosphorous
is always left behind. We have known this since the last fifteen years but we only
have done something since the last five years. In Holland it is worse, most soils are
completely saturated in phosphorous.
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cach..."australia"+"gov.au"&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=nz

 

[kiwibird]

Re: Water Issues in Denmark

Increasing levels of nitrate (NO3-) in drinking water in Denmark is of concern due to the possibility of an associated increase in long-term exposure to endogeneously formed N-nitroso compounds. Using a duplicate portion technique in combination with a qualitative description of diet and other background variables, the total nitrate intake in a Danish rural population and the contribution of drinking water to the total nitrate exposure is estimated. People drinking nitrate-free water have an intake of 37 mg NO3- per day. At 47 mg NO3- per litre, the exposure is increased to 89 mg, about 60% of which originates from the water. At 84 mg NO3- per litre, the daily exposure is 123 mg, 70% of which originates from the drinking water.

These crude comparisons between three groups of people are supplemented with quantitative modelling of nitrate exposure at individual level. Apart from drinking water, consumption of vegetables is a major source of nitrate in this population.

Using nitrate in overnight urine samples to quantify exposure is less accurate than the duplicate dietary portion technique and tends, in the present study, to underestimate the contribution of water-derived nitrate to total nitrate intake.
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/18/1/206