What’s in your drinking water? Activists want tests for microplastics

Key Points:

• The EPA proposed new standards for monitoring drinking water contaminants but did not include microplastics, prompting concern from health professionals and advocacy groups who consider microplastics a public health crisis.
• Over 250 health experts and multiple states, including California, have urged the EPA to add microplastics to the testing list due to evidence suggesting potential harm from ingestion, with an estimated 4,000 or more microplastic particles consumed annually per person through water.
• The EPA cites a lack of validated, standardized testing methods for microplastics in drinking water as the primary reason for their exclusion from the current monitoring program, known as UCMR 6.
• California has taken proactive steps by implementing Senate Bill 1422, requiring certain large water systems to test for microplastics, with plans to expand testing statewide as methods and data improve.
• Local water authorities in Southern California, including Irvine Ranch Water District and Orange County Water District, assure the public that current drinking water is safe and that ongoing monitoring efforts are being closely followed.