Nitrate contamination of ground water and methemoglobinemia in Gaza strip

Abstract EN

The nitrate contamination of ground water is a serious threat to public health in Gaza Strip.

This study was performed in order to evaluate the concentration of nitrate in ground water of Gaza Strip.

Afield study was performed and various samples were taken from drinking water wells and analysed for nitrate concentration according to ultraviolet spretrophotometric method.

It was found that the ground water of Gaza Strip has been greatly polluted by nitrates with average nitrate concentration of 129.7 mg / L for all study of drinking wells of Gaza Strip.

In other hand, methemoglobinemia in the Gaza Strip was investigated as the health effect of nitrate exposure.

Sex hundred forty (640) child blood samples during 1998 were randomly selected from paediatric hospitals in Gaza Strip and analysed for methemoglobin concentration according to spectrophotometric method described in Barbara Brown 1992.

The experimental results indicate that the prevalence of metemoglobinemia in Gaza Strip is very high and the average abnormal cases with varied percentage suffering from metemoglobinemia is equal to 72-75 % of the total investigated children.