Petition Filed Against EPA to Have Microplastics in UCMR6

A few weeks ago, the EPA received a petition from Food & Water Watch and others to include microplastics in the Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR), due for publication in 2025. Food & Water Watch is a national nonprofit aimed at ensuring access to clean drinking water, safe and sustainable food, and a livable climate.

In the petition, they argue, alongside 170 national, regional, state, and local organizations which advocate against plastic pollution, that microplastics are an emerging contaminant worthy of EPA regulation. Microplastics are prominent in the environment, where they can make their way into drinking water and threaten human health.

EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery published the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution. With this petition, Food & Water Watch hopes to use the power of UCMR6 to regulate microplastics under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The full petition can be read here: Food & Water Watch, et al. against US Environmental Protection Agency.