Seven U.S. governors, led by New Jersey's Phil Murphy, are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to start taking the health risks of microplastics seriously.
They recently signed a petition that pushes for microplastics to be designated as an unregulated contaminant as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act. If successful, microplastic monitoring could begin as soon as in December 2026 with further regulation possible down the road.
"New Jersey is proud to lead six other states at the forefront of an emerging public health and environmental issue that affects all of us," Governor Murphy said in a statement. "We deserve to better understand the potential for microplastics contamination in our drinking water."
Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit spearheading the efforts, contextualized the news in a press release. The organization spent the last year trying to garner support from governors to push for the measure. Those efforts clearly bore fruit as prominent governors such as Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer and Illinois' J.B. Pritzker joined Murphy in signing the petition.
While we're still in the early stages of learning about the perils of microplastics, what we know so far is disturbing. They've been linked to increased risks of cancer, reproductive problems, and weakened immunity.
Meanwhile, due to their tiny size, they easily spread from various sources into our drinking water through the tap. They also end up in our food and consumer goods.
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That's why last year, Food & Water Watch — alongside 175 organizations — also submitted a petition to the EPA requesting the monitoring of microplastics in bottled beverages, packaged foods, and clothing.
That effort, along with this more recent petition, is now in the hands of the EPA. As Murphy's statement noted, getting microplastics designated as a new contaminant is "often the first important step" toward determining whether regulation is needed. As it stands, microplastics are unmonitored at the federal level.
Food & Water Watch's executive director, Wenonah Hauter, commended the governors for joining the effort and demanded that the EPA "get to work."
"This is a momentous step towards gathering critical information we need about the emerging crisis of microplastics in drinking water," Hauter said. "People have a right to know about microplastic contamination in their drinking water."
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