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 warfare connected microplastics. 

These tiny bits of plastic, which are little than 5 mm successful size, tin persist successful our situation for hundreds oregon thousands of years. They whitethorn besides physique up successful our bodies, our hearts and our brains, causing untold damage.                           

For the archetypal time, the EPA is adding microplastics and pharmaceuticals to its Contaminant Candidate List for drinking water, which volition assistance to prioritize backing and pave the mode for imaginable aboriginal regularisation involving Congress. 

​​RFK JR LAUNCHES $134M+ NATIONAL PROGRAM TO STUDY MICROPLASTICS IN THE HUMAN BODY, DRINKING WATER

HHS is besides launching the Systematic Targeting of Microplastics — oregon STOMP — to survey however microplastics accumulate successful the body.

Kennedy spoke with Fox News successful an exclusive interrogation accompanying the EPA/HHS announcement.

"Microplastics, which are little than 5 mm successful size, tin persist successful the situation for hundreds oregon thousands of years," said Dr. Marc Siegel. "They whitethorn besides physique up successful our bodies, our hearts and our brains, causing untold damage.                     (iStock)

"We bash not person the subject that distinguishes betwixt the impacts of these antithetic types of plastics, and possibly if we place those impacts, the damaging ones tin beryllium instantly eliminated, due to the fact that you tin regenerate them with thing else," helium said.

"Our occupation — and we are truly astatine the bounds of our powerfulness close present — is to effort to reply those questions earlier we instrumentality different action."       

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Kennedy pointed to emerging subject suggesting microplastics’ nonstop impacts connected nationalist health. 

"Some of them whitethorn beryllium benign – others are very, precise harmful," helium warned. "The subject shows if they origin inflammation, they origin oxidative stress."

"As a body, they are endocrine disruptors, truthful they interfere with fertility," helium added.             

For the archetypal time, the EPA is adding microplastics and pharmaceuticals to its Contaminant Candidate List for drinking water, which volition assistance to prioritize backing and pave the mode for imaginable aboriginal regularisation involving Congress.  (iStock)

As emerging probe suggests a higher hazard of bosom attack, changeable and neurodegenerative illness erstwhile microplastics are contiguous astatine the cellular level, "the clip to enactment is now," according to Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a prof of pediatrics and colonisation wellness astatine NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

During a sheet accompanying the announcement, Trasande compared the contented to efforts to trim pb vulnerability successful the 1970s, erstwhile the authorities took enactment arsenic soon arsenic the information was identified, adjacent earlier each probe was complete.

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Kennedy, who has a agelong past of warring chemicals successful the environment, blames large businesses for causing the occupation and wants them to cleanable it up. "That’s a acquisition we are each expected to person learned astatine kindergarten – that you cleanable up aft yourself, you don’t unit the nationalist to bash it."

The aforesaid attack applies to pharmaceuticals that marque their mode into the environment, helium noted.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin holds a microplastic illustration during an announcement astatine EPA office successful Washington, D.C., connected April 2, 2026. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

"Particularly for our children, it's precise alarming. They are swimming astir present successful a toxic soup. It's coming from everywhere," Kennedy warned. "It's coming from their food. It's coming from agriculture. It's coming from the aerial and water, and it's coming from pharmaceutical drugs.

"Lee has directed his bureau nether President Trump to bash this survey truthful we tin commencement regulating the discharge of these chemicals," helium went on. "A batch of them you tin region done c exertion and different technologies."

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Administrator Zeldin said helium believes the combat against microplastics is simply a bipartisan issue. He is calling for much acquisition and transparency erstwhile it comes to microplastics and nationalist health, cautioning against the national authorities proposing a one-size-fits-all solution. 

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"You privation to beryllium capable to get the answers, you privation to spot the gold-standard science," helium said. "You request extremist transparency. You're looking done the website, and it's ignoring what you came to that web leafage to look for. I consciousness similar there's a connection spread – and erstwhile there's a connection gap, there's a spot gap."

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin speaks alongside HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during the microplastics announcement astatine EPA office successful Washington, D.C., connected April 2, 2026. (Ken Cedeno/Reuters)

Zeldin and Kennedy person been moving intimately nether President Trump's Make America Healthy Again docket and accidental they bask moving together. 

"There's nary American successful this state who can't get heard someway by Secretary Kennedy, and it's conscionable an grant to service alongside him," Zeldin said.

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Kennedy added, "I similar everybody successful that Cabinet, but Lee and I enactment with peculiar closeness, and I've truly enjoyed the relationship."                                           

It is wide they would similar this narration to continue, adjacent if their roles change. "You ne'er cognize what’s going to happen," Kennedy said.