Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM) 

Nitrate/Nitrite Toxicity
Where Can I Find More Information?

For More Information

You can find more information about the adverse effects of nitrate/nitrite and the management of cases of human exposure from

• CDC-INFO
  

  800-CDC-INFO
  800-232-4636
  TTY 888-232-6348
  24 Hours/Day
  E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

• CDC Emergency Response: 770-488-7100
• your state and local health departments.

Suggested Reading

Further information on nitrate/nitrite toxicity can be found in the following reports:

Avery AA. Infantile methemoglobinemia: reexamining the role of drinking water nitrates. Environ Health Perspect 1999; 107(7):583-6.

Mensinga TT, Speijers GJA, Meulenbelt J. Health implications of exposure to environmental nitrogenous compounds. Toxicol Rev 2003; 22(1):41-51.

Lundberg JO, Weitzberg E, Cole JA, Benjamin N. Nitrate, bacteria and human health. Nat Rev Microbiol 2004; 2(7):593-602.

Wright RO, Lewander WJ, Woolf AD. Methemoglobinemia: etiology, pharmacology, and clinical management. Ann Emerg Med 1999; 34(5):646-56.

Fan AM, Steinberg VE. Health implications of nitrate and nitrite in drinking water: An update on methemoglobinemia occurrence and reproductive and development toxicity. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 1996; 23(11):35-43.

Knobeloch L, Salna B, Hogan A, Postle J, Anderson H. Blue babies and nitrate-contaminated well water. Environ Health Perspect 2000; 108(7):675-8.

Other CSEMs

Case Studies in Environmental Medicine: Nitrate/Nitrite is one educational case study in a series. To view Taking an Exposure History and other modules in this series, please go to http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.html