Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of microplastic contaminants on public health.

The potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed in 2021 by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) who published an overarching statement on potential risks from exposure to microplastics.

The COT concluded that it is not yet possible to perform a complete assessment for the potential risks to human health from exposure to micro and nanoplastics via the oral and inhalation routes". The COT made a number of recommendations for further research including understanding the risk of exposure from the oral and inhalational routes. UKHSA has work ongoing in this area in small projects in collaboration with Imperial College. These projects, while limited, are assisting the understanding of the potential risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics from inhalational and oral exposure.