EC Report Links Fertilizers to Water Contamination in Greece
19 de setembro de 2008 Fertilizer use in Greece increased dramatically from 158,724 tonnes in 1961 of products such as ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and inorganic phosphate in 1961 to 696,000 tonnes in 1990. As the 1991 introduction of the European Water Directive protecting waters against nitrate pollution from agricultural sources contributed to a significant reduction in fertilizer usage, the studies indicate that underground aquifers remain contaminated even after the reduced fertilizer usage.
In the Evros region – one of Northeastern Greece’s largest agricultural areas, with over 1.5 million acres of cultivated land – much of the drinking water comes from underground aquifers located within agricultural areas. With only 30%-60% of nitrate and 45% of phosphate fertilizers absorbed by crops, a significant amount of these nutrients leaks from agricultural fields, says the report. In four out of 64 sites (6.25%) drinking water samples exceeded the European nitrate limit of 50 ppm, and 17.2% showed values between 25 and 50 ppm. Around 7.8% of samples exceeded the European recommended value of 5 ppm of phosphates (EEC 1998). Sulfate levels exceeding the recommended limits of 250 ppm were found in 4.7% of sampling points.
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