Spontaneous abortions possibly related to ingestion of nitrate-contaminated well water--LaGrange County, Indiana, 1991-1994

Abstract

Health effects associated with ingestion of nitrate-contaminated water have included methemoglobinemia (i.e., blue baby syndrome) in infants and spontaneous abortions in laboratory animals and livestock; however, only one study in humans has reported an association between increased methemoglobin levels and spontaneous abortion. During March 1993, the LaGrange County (Indiana) Health Department (LCHD) identified three women who reported a total of six spontaneous abortions during 1991-1993 and who resided in proximity to each other; each had obtained drinking water from nitrate-contaminated private wells in LaGrange County (1995 population: 29,350). LCHD was subsequently notified about a fourth woman from another part of the county who had had two spontaneous abortions after she had moved into a new home with a nitrate-contaminated private well. This report summarizes the investigations of these reports by LCHD, which indicate the need for further assessment of a possible relation between ingesting nitrate-contaminated water and spontaneous abortion.