EPA Adds Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals to Contaminant List

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on Thursday a joint initiative to address microplastics and pharmaceuticals in drinking water, marking the first time these substances have been added to the EPA's Contaminant Candidate List. The announcement, made at EPA headquarters in Washington, includes a $144 million program called the Systematic Targeting of Microplastics, or STOMP, aimed at studying the presence of microplastics in the human body and developing strategies to detect, reduce, and remove them.

The move responds to widespread public concerns about contaminants entering water supplies and their potential health impacts. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA updates its Contaminant Candidate List every five years to identify unregulated substances that may pose risks, enabling monitoring, research, and possible future regulations. The draft sixth edition of the list, now open for a 60-day public comment period, also includes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or forever chemicals, disinfection byproducts, 75 individual chemicals, and nine microbes. Officials emphasized that...