Attorney General Jeff Jackson Calls for Monitoring Microplastics in Drinking Water

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Contact: comms@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809

RALEIGH – Attorney General Jeff Jackson is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require monitoring of microplastics in North Carolinians’ drinking water by adding microplastics to its Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule.

“No one should have to worry about whether the water they’re drinking is clean and safe,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “We know that microplastics are a real public health concern that we need to take seriously. I’m asking the EPA to fix this oversight.”  

Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces that are smaller than five millimeters – less than a quarter of an inch. They’ve been found in our water, air, and soil. Research is ongoing to explore potential health impacts of microplastics, such as damage to DNA and gene structures, damage to organs, cancer, heart attacks, and reproductive issues.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA publishes a list of unregulated contaminants. Large public water systems then have to monitor public drinking water for those contaminants and publish data about how frequently they show up in drinking water. Several states have asked the EPA to include microplastics on its list so that these chemicals can be studied and monitored. The EPA hasn’t yet done so.

Attorney General Jackson is asking the EPA to update its list to require monitoring of microplastics in public water systems so that we can better understand the scope of this problem and act to address it.

A copy of the letter is available here.

Attorney General Jackson is joined in filing this letter by the Attorneys General of Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

###