New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy this week led a petition that was sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, urging for nationwide monitoring of microplastics in public drinking water. The tiny particles come from a variety of plastic products and can contaminate soil, air, food and water. Once ingested, they can bioaccumulate in the body. There currently are no federal regulations for microplastics in public drinking water, and most water providers don’t monitor for these contaminants.
“We deserve to better understand the potential for microplastics contamination in our drinking water,” Murphy said in a statement. The petition, signed by six other governors, including Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, requests the EPA to include microplastics in its Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. The program allows the EPA to collect contaminant data and decide whether to restrict them in drinking water. The agency will soon release its sixth version of the rule, which will add 30 contaminants to the list by 2027.
Health experts say microplastics monitoring would help them better understand the potential harms, and lead to standards that protect public health. “We need more epidemiological studies. In order to do epidemiological studies, you need the exposure data,” said Philip Demokritou, a professor of nanoscience and environmental bioengineering at Rutgers University. To read the full story.