December 8, 2015

The Microbead-Free Waters Act (H.R. 1321) passed the House by a voice-vote on December 7, 2015. H.R. 1321 attempts to lower the negative environmental impacts that synthetic microbeads have on water pollution.

Synthetic microbeads have been found in multiple large bodies of water and in the Great Lakes. Studies from various New York water treatment plants indicate that the microbeads are passing through water treatment systems and into natural water systems. Research by scientists at the State University of New York, Fredonia, indentified the beads throughout all five of the Great Lakes.

These beads tend to bind to chemical pollutants which fall under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Water Act and can cause harm to aquatic ecosystems. The bill calls for a stop in the manufacturing process of plastic microbeads beginning July 1, 2017.

Sources: eenews, congress.gov