The amount of NO2− formed during UV disinfection is important because public health concerns surrounding this compound have led to its being regulated at fairly low levels. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for NO2− of 1 mg/L (as N), while in Europe the comparable E.U. Member States standard is 0.5 mg/L (0.11 mg/L as N). Previous work using low-pressure (LP) mercury lamps, which emit primarily monochromatic light at 253.7 nm, has shown that NO2− production should be negligible at UV doses typically used for disinfection [5]. This is because NO3− absorbs very weakly at this wavelength (Fig. 1). More recent work using medium-pressure (MP) mercury lamps, which emit a range of UV and visible wavelengths down to approximately 200 nm (Fig. 2) where NO3− absorbs very strongly, has shown that although NO2− production is higher with these lamps, it is unlikely to be high enough to violate US and Canadian water quality standards (Canadian guidelines specify 3.2 mg/L NO2− while Ontario has set a standard of 1.0 mg/L) except in situations where NO3− is present far in excess of its MCL of 10 mg/L as N or when UV doses far in excess of those required for disinfection are applied [4] and [6]. However, the more stringent European Union standard may potentially be violated when using these lamps, even when the water contains levels of NO3− within regulatory limits