Evaluation of the Origin, Health Threats and Fate of Nitrate Nitrogen in the Groundwaters of Bangalore, India
Nitrates are responsible for a number of health threats, both in human beings and animals and known to be potent
carcinogens. In the present study, nitrate contents have been quantitatively estimated in the groundwaters of Bellandur area
during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods of 2016 by collecting 30 samples in each season. The analysis data
indicates a large variation of nitrate from 4 mg/L to 394 mg/L in the pre-monsoon and 6 mg/L to 418 mg/L in the postmonsoon
seasons. 54% of the samples have shown high nitrate contents (>45 mg/l), which is more than the permissible
limits of drinking water as per the Bureau of Indian Standards, BIS 10,500. An attempt has been made to identify the
possible sources of the high nitrate level in groundwater and some mitigative measures for the same have been suggested.
Keywords - Concentration; Groundwater; Health; Nitrate; Pollution; Toxicity.