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.
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