Today, 64 groups concerned with the impacts of microplastics on drinking water, led by Food & Water Watch, submitted a comment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling for the agency to not only add microplastics to the Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6), but also to monitor for microplastics in drinking water under the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6), scheduled to be finalized by the end of the year. 

EPA recently announced that it will be including microplastics on the CCL 6, a list of unregulated contaminants that are known or likely to occur in public water systems that the agency may regulate in the future. However, as EPA itself acknowledges, CCL 6 “will not impose any requirements on regulated entities” – meaning that while EPA might conduct additional research on microplastics, listing on the CCL does not require gathering information about what is actually in our drinking water. The UCMR – issued only every five years – is the vehicle for drinking water monitoring.

“What we really need is a comprehensive, transparent monitoring program to determine the full scale of the microplastics contamination crisis and lay the foundation for drinking water regulations – and including microplastics on UCMR 6 is how we begin to do that,” said Food & Water Watch Senior Staff Attorney Erin Doran. “While the commenters represented in this letter support listing microplastics on the final CCL, EPA must not stop there. The threats of microplastics to human health warrant drinking water monitoring now, even while further research into microplastics continues.”

Groups called on EPA to monitor for microplastics in drinking water under the UCMR 6 because: 

1. Microplastics pose unacceptable risks to human health that underscore the need for drinking water monitoring now.
2. EPA should begin drinking water monitoring while research into microplastics continues.

As the comment concludes, “The health risks posed by microplastics are alarming—seemingly more so every day—and require urgent action from EPA. Instead of using data gaps as an excuse to sit on its hands for another five years or more, the agency should use the best information currently available to begin monitoring for these emerging contaminants in drinking water and adapt its approach as indicated based on further research and technological advancements.”

The comment, led by Food & Water Watch, was joined by dozens of environmental and public health organizations, including 5 Gyres Institute, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Environmental Health, Clean Water Action, Plastic Pollution Coalition, The Last Plastic Straw, Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community, and many others.

Along with the comment submitted by environmental groups, 4,266 Food & Water Watch members and supporters submitted individual comments to EPA similarly encouraging the agency to take more meaningful action by including microplastics in the UCMR 6. 

Background: 

In Nov. 2024, Food & Water Watch submitted a petition to the EPA advocating for microplastics monitoring under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The monitoring occurs under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR), which EPA is required to issue every five years for up to 30 unregulated contaminants. 

Additionally, the SDWA requires the EPA to include a contaminant in the UCMR if seven governors petition for its inclusion and it would not prevent the monitoring of a contaminant of more pressing public health concern. Food & Water Watch led a successful campaign to compel seven state governors to collectively petition EPA for microplastics monitoring. In late 2025, these seven governors submitted their petition to the EPA. 

Every day, people across the United States and the world are ingesting microplastics in drinking water. 

• It’s estimated that each year the average person consumes 4,000 or more microplastic particles from drinking water. 
• Microplastics are linked to health harms including cancer, and have been proven to have an adverse effect on the immune system. 

Are you worried about the impact of~data centers on your community?

TAKE OUR SURVEY