Talk:Sodium nitrate

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It is still being mined in Chile and in Argentina. jj My can of SPAM lists sodium nitrite as an ingredient, not sodium nitrate. Can someone with more chemistry background clarify the reference to SPAM in this article? Thanks. Samw 01:53 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

OK, thanks for removing the SPAM reference. Samw 17:57, 2 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Why is there a picture of sodium nitrite on this page?

Contents 1 health problems 2 Saltpeter 3 Sexual Inhibitions 4 migraines 5 Fertilizer 6 Phase Change Material 7 Carcinogenic Potential

[edit] health problems

I've read that this substance is known to cause cancers, etc. Is there enough info/consensus on that to include it as at least a possiblility?

Have a look at this link about sodium nitrate claiming it does cause cancer. Apparently they tried to ban it in the 70's but to no avail. http://www.truthpublishing.com/grocerywarning.html

That link doesn't look too reputable. Looks like product spam and outlandish claims to me. Besides, (and once again, it's listed right above this entry) you're talking about sodium nitrite, not sodium nitrate. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.82.247.200 (talk) 10:48, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Saltpeter

Just wondering about the references to it also being known as 'saltniggers' and 'salt penis'...? I can't find anything to corroborate these statements, and find them highly unlikely. Don Donald (talk) 12:32, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

With out references, I believe the edits witch have changed the name to be vandalism.R00m c (talk) 20:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

I removed this from the article as it should have been here:R00m c (talk) 20:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

The first paragraph of this article where it names sodium nitrate as salt peter is in error. Salt peter is potassium nitrate KNO3. The confusion comes from the use of the term Chile saltpeter for sodium nitrate. The two are not interchangable.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.96.37.198 (talk • contribs) 08:08, January 2, 2008

Do you have any references of this being the cases? The article of Potassium nitrate indicates as your say, however it is unreferenced as well.R00m c (talk) 20:44, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sexual Inhibitions

My grandfather told me that during WWII (he was stationed in Alaska) the Army put Saltpeter into the food in order to reduce the libido of the troops. I looked at the article for a confirmation of this use and it doesn't mention anything about that potential side effect. Saltpeter can also refer to potassium nitrate, which specifically says that's nonesense. 69.140.156.40 21:24, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] migraines

sodium nitrates, according to many migraine drug companies and migraine prevention websites, have been found to cause migraines. These sources also say this chemical can be found in deli meats cheese and therefore pizza.

• Unless you have any real source, I wouldn't believe this for a second. People make all kinds of spurious correlations without any real data, and this is made especially more difficult to believe when the nitrate anion (NO₃-) is present in most vegetables as well. Migraines are a poorly understood phenomena and without proper study (meaning, real sources) this is nothing more than anecdotal fluff. Ψαμαθος 10:26, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fertilizer

Isn't NaNO3 used as fertilizer? If you can confirm, please add to applications. ike9898 19:26, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

As Potasium is a needed by plants and the sodium concentration is high enough in the soil Potasium nitrat is prefered in fertilizer. But most of the fertilizers only give the amount of Sodium oxide and Potasium oxide and the abount of available nitrogen, and with this numbers to determin which atoms form a crystal and which not is nearly impossible without x-ray crystalography.--Stone 21:07, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

^^Yes, NaNO3 can be used a fertilizer. I purchased some as such recently, but as far as nitrogen to weight ratio is concerned, it is a terrible choice. Ammonium nitrate or urea are generally used as nitrogen sources. If it is a mixed fertilizer, good luck figuring out what ingredients are present. Dormroomchemist 06:02, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Pure Sodium and Potassium Nitrate are illegal in us is it not? -Danny Abbott

^^No, not at all. You can still buy it very rarely in pharmacies (I found it with salt substitutes once) as some old fashioned remedy. I've purchased both locally, and completely legally. Dormroomchemist 06:02, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Phase Change Material

Evaluation of regenerative phase change drywalls: low-energy buildings application K. Darkwa, International Journal of Energy Research Volume 23, Issue 14 , Pages 1205 - 1212--Stone 14:50, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Carcinogenic Potential

The substance Sodium Nitrate, and the related Sodium nitrite are not themselves carcinogenic; they are in fact antioxidants, like a few of the vitamins. However, when foods containing them are cooked at very high temperatures, compounds called nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic, are formed. (That page linked to above is nothing but an inflammatory advertisement for a book, and also strangely doesn't even mention nitrate or -ite.) Now the problem I am having is that this is rather off-topic, so I don't really want to add it to the article, along with the citation I have (below, and the same as the one at Curing (food preservation)), but misinformation of the form "NaNO₃ causes cancer" keeps cropping up. Does anyone have any advice here? Should I just put the off-topic stuff on to prevent the bad stuff?

• National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council Academy of Life Sciences. "The Health Effects of Nitrate, Nitrite and N-Nitroso Compounds". Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1981.

Josh Caswell 24.41.69.134 06:57, 9 May 2007 (UTC)