WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency for the first time placed microplastics and pharmaceuticals on a draft version of its Contaminant Candidate List, flagging them as potentially concerning contaminants in drinking water. The draft list, now in its sixth iteration, also includes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, and dozens of other chemicals and microbes.

"This is a direct response to the concern of millions of Americans, who have long demanded answers about what they and their families are drinking every day," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. The draft list will be open for public comment for 60 days.

The Safe Drinking Water Act requires the EPA to publish an updated version of the list every five years. Inclusion on the list gives local regulators a tool to evaluate risks in their water supply, though it does not guarantee that research or regulatory action will follow. If microplastics are included in the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule update, the EPA would be required to start collecting data on the prevalence of microplastics in drinking water.

Alongside the EPA announcement, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a $144 million initiative called STOMP — Systematic Targeting Of Microplastics — to develop tools to measure and monitor microplastics in drinking water and to remove them at a later stage. The initiative, led by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, will also design experiments to understand the effects of microplastics within the human body.

"Today we mark a turning point — the EPA and HHS are acting together to confront microplastics as a human health threat," Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. "We are focusing on three questions: What is in the body? What's causing the harm, and how do we remove it?"

Microplastics have been linked to human health problems, but more research is needed to prove causation and understand their impact on humans. The Make America Healthy Again movement often raises concerns about toxic chemicals and plastic pollution in food and the environment.

"I think it's fair to call this theater," said Katherine O'Brien, an attorney with Earthjustice. "It's a distraction from the real harm that these very same agencies are doing to public health by undermining actual legal protections against toxic chemical exposure in our drinking water, and in our food."

O'Brien noted that the Trump administration has reduced regulations on toxic chemicals in the environment, including PFAS in drinking water. She pointed out that some well-known, highly toxic drinking water contaminants have remained on the Contaminant Candidate List for years without regulatory action. Last month, the EPA announced it would not take any regulatory actions related to nine chemicals listed on the most recent version of the list.