To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to conduct a study, and submit to Congress a report, on the human health impacts of exposure to microplastics in food and water.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Bynum (for herself and Mr. Steube) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Microplastics Safety Act requires the FDA to conduct a scientific study examining how microplastics in food and water affect human health. The study must identify:
- Major pathways of human exposure to microplastics
- Health impacts on children
- Effects on the endocrine system
- Cancer risks
- Chronic illness connections
- Reproductive health effects
Within one year of enactment, the FDA must submit a report to Congress with findings and recommendations for legislative or administrative action.
Who Benefits and How
Public health advocates and researchers benefit from mandated federal research into an emerging health concern that currently lacks comprehensive study.
Consumers benefit from increased transparency about microplastic risks in food and water, potentially leading to future protective regulations.
Environmental health organizations benefit from government recognition of microplastics as a public health concern requiring study.
Who Bears the Burden and How
FDA/HHS bears the administrative burden of conducting the study and producing the report within the one-year timeline, requiring allocation of agency resources.
Potentially affected industries (plastics manufacturers, food packaging, bottled water) face no direct regulatory burden from this bill, though study findings could inform future regulations.
Key Provisions
- Section 2(a) - Mandates FDA study on human health impacts of microplastics exposure
- Section 2(b) - Requires study to address specific health areas: children's health, endocrine system, cancer, chronic illness, reproductive health
- Section 2(c) - Establishes 1-year deadline for report to Congress with findings and recommendations
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the FDA Commissioner, to conduct a comprehensive study and submit a report to Congress on the human health impacts of exposure to microplastics in food and water, with recommendations for legislative or administrative action.
Policy Domains
Full Bill - FDA Study and Report
Likely Beneficiaries
- Public Health Researchers
- Consumers
- Environmental Health Organizations
Inferred from context, no direct clause evidence
Likely Burden Bearers
- FDA/Department of Health and Human Services
Inferred from context, no direct clause evidence
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "the_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
This Act may be cited as the Microplastics Safety Act.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology