Markus Dudley – Nitrate: Baltimore’s Continual Water Polluter (myportfolio.com)
Baltimore is a city known for its seafood, but the waters it fishes from is full of a contaminant named Nitrate. It’s a compound containing nitrogen, and is used heavily in agriculture to promote plant growth, but when digested in excessive amounts can lead to conditions like blue baby syndrome in babies (according to the Maryland Geological Society). As of 2021, the city of Baltimore has 2.11 parts per million Nitrate in the water, which is over double the national average and 15 times greater than the Environmental Working Group’s recommended limit of 0.14 parts per million.
How could a compound used for farming make its home in Baltimore water sources? To answer this question, we went to Dr. Maren Blohm, a Biology professor at Loyola University Maryland who specializes in plant stress. Here’s what she had to say: