Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to public health posed by microplastics; and what steps they are taking to protect the public from those risks.

The potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT). The most recent statement was published in 2024 and is available on COT’s website in an online-only format.

In October 2025, the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) published a ‘state of the science’ statement summarising the evidence for a potential risk to health from exposure to airborne nano and microplastics (NMP) (excluding tyre wear particles), and the uncertainty and gaps in this evidence. The statement is available on GOV.UK in an online-only format.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has taken further steps to understand the risks to health of microplastics by carrying out published research to understand if there are potential health risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes. This work was carried out in collaboration with Imperial College under the Health Protection Research Unit Environmental Exposures and Health that was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) until March 2025.

The Government recognises microplastics as an emerging concern and continues to assess potential risks. On 12 May 2025, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published an Option Appraisal for Intentionally Added Microplastics as part of a research scoping project, assessing impacts on the environment and human health and setting out possible policy options, available on the Department’s website in an online-only format.

The Government is supporting research and working with regulators, industry and partners to better understand impacts, while taking action to reduce plastic pollution and protect water quality.