As some 80% of the wells in the country have nitrate concentrations above the allowed limit, the National Center of Public Health (CNSP) has come up with the initiative to provide with bottled water the families that have babies fed with formula. The project could be up and running in a year.

Ion Salaru, head of the Environmental Health Center at CNSP, told IPN that poisonings with polluted water aren't infrequent. High nitrate concentrations can be dangerous, especially for babies fed with formula. Preparing formula with polluted water can have even lethal consequences, warns Ion Salaru.

Parents must know the quality of water in the wells or water supply systems they use. If water comes from public wells or the centralized water supply, parents can ask the local authorities to examine the quality of water. For personal wells, people must take a sample to the lab by themselves.

Salaru says the biggest nitrate pollution is found in villages without centralized water supply systems and there are about 500 such villages in Moldova. “We want to follow the example of other countries such as Romania, where, if water is polluted, authorities supply drinking water for mothers who feed their babies with formula”, explains Salaru. He thinks that a legal initiative in this regard could be ready next year.

The doctor stressed that about 6000 formula-fed children are in the risk group, because they live in places where the concentration of nitrates is above 50 mg per liter. “This group should be supplied with drinking water and I don't think it would be too big of a burden for the local budget”, he said.

A year ago, a one-month-old baby was hospitalized in Orhei because of nitrate poisoning. Recently, also in Orhei, a two-month-old baby died and the local press wrote that the poisoning was caused by formula prepared with water from the well, but authorities didn't confirm the information.