ICYMI: EPA Takes Bold, Historic MAHA Action on Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals, and Potential Hidden Contaminants
April 6, 2026
Contact Information
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)
WASHINGTON – On Thursday, April 2, 2026, alongside U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced landmark, coordinated actions to address microplastics contamination, one of the most urgent and growing public health challenges facing Americans. For the first time in agency history, EPA is including microplastics as a priority contaminant group in its draft Sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 6), and is now holding a public comment period on it.
CCL 6 also includes pharmaceuticals as a group—another first—along with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), disinfection byproducts, 75 individual chemicals, and nine microbes that may be present in public drinking water systems. Thursday’s announcement, made at a press conference at EPA headquarters, represent a major step forward in President Trump’s commitment to Make America Healthy Again.
Read coverage below on the Trump EPA’s commitment to clean and safe drinking water for all Americans.
Fox News: RFK Jr, EPA Chief ‘Declare War’ on Microplastics Amid Growing Evidence of Health Risks
“Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin are declaring a war on microplastics. These tiny bits of plastic, which are less than 5 mm in size, can persist in our environment for hundreds or thousands of years. They may also build up in our bodies, our hearts and our brains, causing untold damage. For the first time, the EPA is adding microplastics and pharmaceuticals to its Contaminant Candidate List for drinking water, which will help to prioritize funding and pave the way for potential future regulation involving Congress.”
Daily Wire: Trump Admin Announces Major Steps Countering Big Pharma And Microplastics
“The Trump administration is moving to more closely track and study microplastics and pharmaceuticals in Americans’ drinking water, marking the first time federal regulators have formally flagged them as potential contaminants. The EPA’s decision to include microplastics on its draft Contaminant Candidate List ‘does not constitute regulation, but signals that a substance warrants serious scientific attention and may be considered for future regulatory action,’ the agency told The Daily Wire.”
Daily Caller: Trump Admin Declares War On Microplastics In Drinking Water
“The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it would seek to remove microplastics and pharmaceuticals from drinking water as part of its effort to improve water standards. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, along with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy, unveiled the Sixth Contaminant Candidate List, which identifies substances that may require regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The move is in tandem with the announcement of the Systematic Targeting Of MicroPlastics (STOMP) program, which aims to crack down on microplastics and pharmaceutical drugs found in drinking water.”
Associated Press: EPA Moves to Designate Microplastics and Pharmaceuticals as Contaminants in Drinking Water
“The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Thursday to include microplastics and pharmaceuticals on a list of contaminants in drinking water for the first time, a step that could lead to new limits on those substances for water utilities. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said they are responding to Americans who have worried about plastics and pharmaceuticals in their drinking water. The gesture also aims to hand a win to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement...”
Wall Street Journal: EPA Wants to Prioritize Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals as Water Contaminants
“The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it has started a process that could lead to restrictions on microplastics and pharmaceuticals in drinking water down the road. The EPA proposed adding microplastics, certain pharmaceuticals and other contaminants to a watchlist. The agency aligned the move with the Make America Healthy Again movement... EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move sends ‘a clear message: we will follow the science, we will pursue answers, and we will hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the health of every American family.”’
The Hill: EPA Proposes Studying Microplastics for Potential Drinking Water Limits
“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to propose to study microplastics and pharmaceuticals in what could be the first step toward drinking water limits for these substances... ‘By placing microplastics and pharmaceuticals on the Contaminant Candidate List for the first time ever, EPA is sending a clear message: we will follow the science, we will pursue answers, and we will hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the health of every American family,’ he added.”
Food Safety Magazine: EPA Addresses Microplastics, PFAS in Drinking Water; HHS to Study Microplastics in Humans
“... Announced on April 2, EPA is including four contaminant groups in CCL 6—microplastics, pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and disinfection byproducts—as well as an additional 75 chemicals and nine microbes that may be found in drinking water. For the first time, EPA is designating both microplastics and pharmaceuticals as priority contaminant groups in the CCL.”
E&E News: EPA Eyes Tracking Microplastics, Medicines in Tap Water
“EPA is taking an initial step toward regulating microplastics and pharmaceuticals in tap water, in a procedural move the Trump administration touted as a win for the ‘Make America Healthy Again movement.’ The agency on Thursday announced a new draft list of potential contaminants in tap water, the first of many steps under the Safe Drinking Water Act before legal limits can be established. The list includes microplastics and pharmaceuticals for the first time but does not require water utilities to take immediate action.”
E&E News: Zeldin, RFK Jr. unveil plans targeting microplastics
“The Trump administration has pledged to address research gaps on health effects and prevalence of microplastics, an issue officials have pushed as critical to Make America Healthy Again goals...EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin also announced plans to add microplastics, as well as certain pharmaceuticals and additional ‘forever chemicals,’ to its list of potential contaminants in drinking water. Officials described it as a first step toward more research and funding for those substances, although it’s no guarantee that they will be regulated.”
NPR: EPA Flags Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals as Contaminants in Drinking Water
“Responding to public health concerns about microplastics and pharmaceuticals in the nation's drinking water, the Trump administration for the first time has placed them on a draft list of contaminants maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA announced the move Thursday, touting it as a ‘historic step’ for the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, movement, which often raises concerns about toxic chemicals and plastic pollution in our food and environment.”
NBC: EPA Takes First Step to Regulate Microplastics in Drinking Water
“...For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency is adding these microplastics to a list of drinking water contaminants the agency is considering for future regulation. ‘For too long, Americans have been ignored as they sound the alarm about plastics in their drinking water. That ends today,’ EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Thursday at a news conference. The EPA, which is required to publish the contaminant list every five years, released a draft of the sixth installment Thursday.”
The New York Times: E.P.A. Targets Microplastics and Drugs in Drinking Water
“The Trump administration on Thursday said the federal government would try to curb levels of microplastics and pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of hundreds of millions of Americans. Supporters of the Make America Healthy Again movement led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., welcomed the announcement. Mr. Kennedy joined Mr. Zeldin at the news conference at the E.P.A.’s headquarters in Washington.”
NewsNation: EPA to Monitor Drinking Water for Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals
“The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday they will monitor the impact of microplastics and pharmaceuticals on drinking water. The administration is touting the proposal as a win for the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement. The EPA will add these substances and others, including ‘forever chemicals,’ to a draft of its ‘Sixth Contaminant Candidate List,’ which puts the chemicals on track for potential regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
Los Angeles Times: Microplastics and Pharmaceuticals Designated as a Priority Threat in Drinking Water by Health, Environment Officials
“Zeldin said the environmental agency will add microplastics and pharmaceuticals to its list of concerning chemicals in drinking water. ‘For the first time in the program’s history, EPA is designating both microplastics and pharmaceuticals as priority contaminant groups,’ he said. The two Cabinet members sat a table before a crowded room at EPA headquarters in Washington, together with microplastic researchers...”
Reuters: US Agencies to Monitor Drinking Water for Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals
“.. The joint announcement was hailed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as a win for President Donald Trump's ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda, whose priorities have included reducing the number of recommended childhood vaccines and promoting whole foods in new dietary guidelines. The EPA will now include microplastics and pharmaceuticals on the sixth Contaminant Candidate List, which would mean they would start being tested and monitored under the Safe Drinking Water Act and receive funding for research, a precursor to future regulation if they are determined to threaten public water systems.”
Plastic News: EPA, HHS Label Microplastics as Potential Drinking Water Pollutant, Launch $144M Study
“President Donald Trump’s administration took aim at microplastics April 2, announcing that it was for the first time listing them as potential contaminants in drinking water and unveiling a $144 million research initiative to look at human health risks.”
KHQ NBC: EPA Draft Adds Microplastics and Pharmaceuticals to Drinking Water List
“... EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency responded to concerns Americans had raised about their drinking water. The EPA's Contaminant Candidate List identified substances in drinking water that were not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The agency published a draft of a new version of that list and said it expected to finalize it by mid-November.”
Scientific American: RFK, Jr., and EPA Announce Plan to Track Microplastics in Tap Water and Humans
“The Trump administration is going after microplastics in drinking water. A new plan to study and regulate plastic pollution was announced on Thursday by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin. The policy is aimed at addressing the growing concern over microplastics in tap water and their effect on health more generally.”
NOTUS: EPA Heeds MAHA’s Call to Classify Microplastics, Antidepressants as Drinking Water Contaminants
“... Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced Thursday that the agency would classify microplastics, ‘forever chemicals,’ disinfection byproducts and drugs like antidepressants and antibiotics as drinking water contaminants. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would invest $144 million into studying the potential health risks of microplastics.”
WHYY: Trump administration proposes new research for microplastics, pharmaceuticals in drinking water
“President Donald Trump’s administration announced Thursday it wants to fund research on microplastics and pharmaceuticals in public drinking water and examine their potential health impacts. The proposal could help environmental regulators create future drinking water restrictions. The federal government also announced a $144 million program to measure, research and remove microplastics from the human body as part of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. The program will prioritize pregnant people, children, patients with chronic conditions and workers in high-exposure environments.”
Chemical and Engineering News: US government targets microplastics for research and potential drinking-water regulation
“The federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires the EPA every 5 years to survey unregulated contaminants in the country’s drinking-water supply and select candidates for regulation. The draft list, once finalized, will become the sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) so far. It also includes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and disinfection by-products, as well as 75 individual chemicals and nine microbes, many of which are carried over from past iterations of the list.”
CSPAN: HHS Secy. Kennedy & EPA Admin. Zeldin Make Announcement on Microplastics
“Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced an initiative targeting microplastics in drinking water and the environment during an event at EPA headquarters in Washington, DC... Secretary Kennedy said they are ‘focusing on three questions - what is in the body, what's causing harm, and how do we remove it.’ Additionally, Secretary Zeldin said the EPA is ‘designating both microplastics and pharmaceuticals as priority contaminant groups.’”
Waste Dive: EPA proposes adding microplastics to list of drinking water contaminants
“... Though some of these substances, namely certain PFAS, have been on previous iterations of the CCL, it’s the first time microplastics and pharmaceuticals are listed as ‘priority contaminant groups.’ That’s driven in part by public concerns over the health impacts, said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. Adding substances to the CCL may guide EPA’s funding and research priorities, giving industries insight into how future regulations could form... EPA and HHS see these concurrent actions as the ‘most comprehensive federal effort to date to understand and combat the risks posed by microplastics to public health.”’
Civil Eats: EPA and HHS Announce New Efforts to Target Microplastics
“Judith Enck, the president of Beyond Plastics, called the move an ‘important first step.’ ‘I applaud this decision by the EPA and urge the agency to move rapidly to not only regulate microplastics in drinking water but to also prevent microplastics from entering our water supplies,’ she said in a statement.”
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