Dozens of nonprofit groups are calling on the EPA to begin tracking microplastics in drinking water. December 2, 2024.
© TOM HAWLEY/Monroe News / via Imagn Images + © Mike Hensdill/USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Washington, DC) – Environmental groups have been raising concerns about health concerns associated with microplastics. And now, 170 environmental non-profits have called on the Environmental Protection Agency to start officially tracking microplastics in drinking water. The group has filed a petition with the EPA, asking the agency take that step as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2026.
Plastics have been linked to PFAS, which have been linked to cancer in some studies. Microplastics refer to tiny pieces of plastic — shed from plastic products while in use or when dumped in the trash — and they hold PFAS in many cases. The chemicals are not only considered carcinogenic but they also disrupt hormones.
A study from the National Library of Medicine found that all the samples of drinking water tested contained microplastics in some capacity. California started tracking microplastics statewide in 2023. No other state does it.
