Podcast: Microplastics pollute our drinking water. What are the risks?

Abstract

By the end of 2023, California’s government will become the first in the world to require monitoring for microplastics in drinking water. The state’s lawmakers took up the issue in 2018, after a groundbreaking study led by chemist Sherri Mason found that 80% of drinking-water samples from around the world contained the particles. California is also investigating whether it should limit microplastic levels in drinking water to protect public health—that would be a world first too. But here’s the thing: when California passed its law in 2018, there were no standard methods for detecting microplastics in water, and there were very few studies on their health effects. How are you supposed to regulate microplastics when you don’t even have a good way to measure them? How can you determine health risks when you don’t know the amount that people are being exposed to? On Stereo Chemistry , hear from the