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Michael Baker: Otago University professor on the new study showing the link between nitrate in drinking water and premature births
Published 1 month, 2 weeks ago
Description
New evidence suggests nitrate in drinking water could increase the risk of premature birth.
A study of more than 700,000 birth records and estimated nitrate levels at the mother's residence, found it potentially contributes to about 4 percent of pre-term births every year.
Otago University professor Michael Baker says this research, paired with similar studies carried out overseas, adds up to the need for an evaluation of nitrate levels in water.
"Denmark has recently reviewed its levels and it's dropped the level to 1.3 milligrams per litre, so that's about a tenth of that current level that we have in New Zealand. And they looked at a lot of evidence to do that."
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