I1: Current Regulatory and Scientific Developments in Microplastics

Westin Boston Seaport 

Room: Burroughs 

Microplastics are an emerging environmental concern across a wide range of product manufacturers and stakeholders. By the end of 2023, regulatory initiatives to sample and monitor microplastics in food packaging and drinking water will have begun in at least two states. Meanwhile, new technical research on microplastics continues to be published at an exponential rate. In response, scientific agencies are implementing initiatives to mine, validate, and store the data from these studies to coordinate research and regulatory efforts. This session will offer attendees a crash course on microplastics to catch them up on recent developments in the field. We will provide updates on regulatory and environmental monitoring efforts, initiatives to manage new microplastic study data, human health and environmental risk assessment of microplastics, and how the scientific literature is beginning to differentiate among different types of microplastics.

Upon completion, the participant will be able to:

- Use scientific and government resources to identify new microplastic study data, such as California's open-source database ToMEx.
- Describe the timeline, actions, and goals of microplastic regulatory monitoring programs in California and Vermont.
- Summarize the current understanding of the potential environmental and health impacts of microplastics in aquatic and terrestrial environments and in commercial products.
- Identify key scientific data gaps in microplastic risk assessment.
 

Emerging Global Regulatory Issues - General

Domain I: Assessment, Impact Analysis, & Risk Management

Introductory

Polling