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Table 1 Drinking water supply and exposure to >25 mg/L nitrate

From: Estimation of incidence and social cost of colon cancer due to nitrate in drinking water in the EU: a tentative cost-benefit assessment

 

Population

Connected to large public water supply

Groundwater based water supply

Non-compliance of large public supplies with EU nitrate or nitrite standard

Population exposed to groundwater based large public supply with >25 mg/L NO3

Agricultural land

N-leaching to groundwater

Area with groundwater exceeding 25 mg/L NO3

Population exposed to small or private groundwater wells with >25 mg/L NO3

 

million

%

%

%

%

%

kg/ha/yr

%

%

Austria

7.8

60

95

2.0

2.0

41

4

18

6.8

Belgium

10.2

90

53

1.0

2.8

46

37

58

3.1

Denmark

5.3

74

99

0.3

3.3

62

24

50

12.9

Finland

5.3

36

34

4.5

0.7

7

3

13

2.7

France

59.7

73

64

2.4

2.7

54

13

40

7.0

Germany

82.7

82

72

1.4

3.1

49

18

45

5.8

Greece

10.7

69

50

0.0

0.6

66

4

19

3.0

Ireland

3.6

75

25

0.0

0.6

23

11

36

2.3

Italy

57.6

83

85

0.7

2.3

53

8

31

4.5

Netherlands

15.9

100

66

0.0

3.5

58

49

63

0.0

Spain

39.6

73

35

3.5

1.4

60

6

25

2.4

UK

58.1

98

27

3.7

1.8

70

12

37

0.2

EU12

356

60

81

2.0

2.3

50

11

34

4.1

  1. Drinking water supply, nitrogen loading, nitrate leaching and exposure to drinking water exceeding 25 mg/L NO3 in the period 1995-2000 in 12 EU member states selected for availability of data on drinking water infrastructure and quality.