What are Nitrates?

Nitrates (NO3) are formed from the two most common elements on earth, Nitrogen and Oxygen. Their presence in soils comes from nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil, decay of organic matter, industrial effluents, human sewage and livestock manure. Nitrates are a serious problem since they do not evaporate, and hence remain dissolved and accumulate in the groundwater.

Read MANTECH's nitrate method abstract here.