Plastic Health Research Act

This bill focuses on how plastic exposure might affect people’s health. It funds research to improve testing methods for microplastics and nanoplastics, set common standards, and fill gaps in what we know. The work is coordinated across federal health and science agencies, including EPA, FDA, NOAA, NIST, and NIEHS, to make sure results are strong and comparable across studies. It also creates “centers of excellence” to study health risks, identify where people are exposed (at work, in the environment, and from everyday items like food packaging and textiles), and share findings with the public when supported by science .

The bill funds competitive research grants and requires a public report within one year and then yearly for four more years, summarizing what the research found. It authorizes $10 million per year for research grants and $10 million per year for the new centers, each from 2026 through 2030 .

• Who is affected: Universities, nonprofits, and public agencies doing health research; communities and workers who may be exposed to plastics; federal science and health agencies that will coordinate and share data .
• What changes: Creates grants and multi-year research centers to study plastic exposure and health, improve testing methods, and increase public awareness when findings support it.
• When: First public report due within one year, then annually for four years; funding runs 2026–2030; center grants last five years and can be renewed after review .
• What “plastic exposure” means: Contact with macro-, micro-, and nano-plastics from production, recycling, environmental sources, and everyday use of products and packaging .