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Many of these barns are owned by a local boy who grew up a few miles from here, built his small family farm into a global pork empire and then became governor.

Gov. Jim Pillen’s hog operations bring jobs and prosperity to this area near his hometown. They also may bring risk to Platte Center’s drinking water.

The town had to dig a new well three years ago, after another well recorded nitrate at nearly 12 parts per million. That’s higher than the level the federal government says is safe to drink.

High nitrate has been linked to a variety of health conditions, including cancer in children.

Nebraska has the highest pediatric cancer rate west of Pennsylvania. Counties with higher nitrate levels often have higher rates of pediatric cancer, a recent University of Nebraska Medical Center study shows....

https://omaha.com/news/state-regional/high-nitrate-levels-on-16-hog-farms-tied-to-gov-jim-pillen/article_3ead82ac-4eb0-11ee-b378-af35bbcd7350.html