Monitoring of nitrate and nitrite concentration in drinking water sources in rural areas of Shout city - West Azerbaijan province, Iran

Background and Aim: Nitrite and nitrate are considered as pollutant agents of ground water resources that cause several hygienic complications. This study was carried out to determine the concentrations of nitrite and nitrate in drinking water wells and springs in rural areas in Shout, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 110 samples were collected from 22 drinking water Wells and springs in Shout (Western Azerbaijan province) in April - December 2016. All experiments were performed (By spectrophotometer DR 5000) according to the standard methods examination book. The results were analyzed by SPSS (Version 24.0.) and Microsoft Excel. Statistical analysis such as one-way ANOVA test analysis was done by SPSS (Version 24.0.). Results: The concentration of nitrate was 2.35 mg /L with a standard deviation of 1.42 and the maximum and minimum concentration of nitrate were 5.9 mg/L and 0.7 mg / L respectively. Also, nitrite concentration was 0.1 mg /L with a standard deviation of 0.03, also maximum and minimum nitrite concentration was 0.13 and 0.005 mg / L respectively. In all wells and springs, gradual increases were seen in nitrate concentrations. According to ANOVA test the mean of nitrate and nitrite concentrations in all rural areas were different (P value < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, the nitrite and nitrate concentrations were lower than standard levels established by WHO guideline and 1053 IR standard. Drinking water sources should be monitored to prevent water contamination with nitrates and nitrites, which can cause harmful effects, such as cancer, blue baby and etc in high concentrations.

کلیدواژه ها:

Nitrate ، Nitrite ، Drinking water ، Shout ، Iran