Finney: I fouled up nitrates column

Let’s revisit a column I wrote earlier this month about Douglas and Kathleen Redhead. They’re the Des Moines couple who stopped paddling their canoe on the the Racoon River because of hteir concern about nitrates.  I see those stacked paragraphs as flawed. The Redheads’ fear about nitrates was legitimate insofar as it is how they actually feel about the river. Where I let you down, dear readers, is not articulating the scientific perspective that could have assuaged the Redheads' worries and eased the general public’s fears.“There are a lot of people upset about the article you wrote concerning the couple who stopped canoeing because of nitrates,” Tyler wrote. People in both his office and in the Iowa ag science community were “extremely frustrated about this article promulgating hysterical and mythical claims about health issues and nitrates.”  Tyler is also the kind of guy who would properly use the word “promulgating” in a sentence.  Schneiders said there is great confusion in the public about nitrates, but the bottom line is that high nitrate levels are a problem in drinking water for infants 6 months and younger and pregnant women.  There are no EPA warnings about adults drinking water with high levels of nitrates. None. Zero. And skin and incidental contact is of no concern either.  Richmond said the ongoing debate is whether nutrient strategy — which would include nitrates — should be voluntary or a matter of government regulation.