Federal Agencies Urged to Protect Health and Water from Microfiber Pollution; CT Attorney General Leads Call for Action

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong led 16 State Attorney’s General in calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to use the full extent of their authority to protect public health and the safety of our oceans from pervasive plastic microfiber pollution.

Synthetic clothing sheds tiny plastic strands – called “microfibers” – when it is washed. It is estimated that approximately 640,000 to 1,500,000 plastic microfiber pieces are shed per wash cycle. As a result of the inescapable concentration of plastic microfibers in the world’s water, it is estimated that, globally, the average person may consume a credit card’s worth of plastic every week.

Plastic microfibers shed from synthetic clothing during wash cycles are now a main source of microplastic pollution in the world’s water. The pollution is so pervasive that researchers have identified these plastics in fish and shellfish for sale for human consumption across the globe, and in the most remote oceans, including the North and South Poles and the Marianas Trench.   The United States and Canada, according to recent estimates, pollute an estimated 878 tons of microfibers into the aquatic environment each year.

Researchers note that these microfibers likely act as endocrine disruptors. Research reflects that the consumption and inhalation of microplastic and microfibers can be associated with hormonal cancers, reproductive problems including infertility, metabolic disorders including diabetes and obesity, asthma, and neurodevelopmental disorders including autism.

Simple technology already exists and is required in other countries to trap and filter plastic microfibers in the wash cycle before they enter our waterways. Research suggests these technologies can successfully filter out as much as 75 percent of microplastics in each wash cycle, according to officials. 

“Plastic microfibers are a pervasive, toxic pollutant with potential to cause severe harm to human health and our environment. Simple technology exists and is already required overseas to trap these plastics before they enter our waterways and ultimately our bodies,” said Attorney General Tong.

“The United States is lagging where we should be leading globally on this emerging global threat. We’re calling on EPA and NOAA to follow its own research and use the full extent of its authority to protect public health and the safety of our oceans,” Tong added.

Global awareness of this pervasive pollutant is growing, and several nations have implemented or are considering similar regulations.

The EPA is aware of this problem and potential solutions. In a 2020 report titled What You Should Know About Microfiber Pollution, the EPA highlights plastic microfibers from synthetic clothing as a “major source of plastic pollution” containing “toxic chemicals” and notes harm to aquatic organisms.

Specifically, the attorneys general, in a letter sent to the federal agencies, urge EPA and NOAA to evaluate their authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate microfiber pollution, and to direct specific funding and research into both the environmental and human health harms caused by microfibers and into washing machine technology solutions.

Joining Attorney General Tong in today’s letter are the attorneys general of California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.