MI Rep.'s new legislation aims to tackle plastic pollution's health impact
As concerns about plastic pollution’s effect on our health rise in Michigan, Haley Stevens is working in a bipartisan way to get answers and solutions
WASHINGTON, D.C. – ICYMI: Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens announced the introduction of the Plastic Health Research Act, a new bipartisan bill to jumpstart national research into the potential health effects of plastic exposure. Congresswoman Stevens’ introduced the bipartisan bill with Republican Congressman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma.
WZZM’s Josh Alburtus exclusively reported the story on how Congresswoman Stevens is trying to tackle a rising health concern for Michiganders:
WZZM: PLASTIC POLLUTION PROBLEM | MI Rep.'s new legislation aims to tackle plastic pollution's health impact
By: Josh Alburtus
Plastic pollution has long been a concern in the Great Lakes. Now, a Michigan member of congress is aiming to tackle crucial data gaps, in hopes of a solution.
Health hazards in Michigan's waterways have long been a top concern for its people, given the state's stewardship of a vast amount of the world's freshwater supply.
Risks have spanned anywhere from lead to PFAS "forever" chemicals.
But on top of that, another major worry for many is plastics, and it's been a concern for years.
"The fact is that there are 22 million pounds of trash that are pulled out of the Great Lakes every year," nature conservation educator Jessica Gregory told 13 ON YOUR SIDE back in 2021.
85% of the pollution that's cleaned up out of the Great Lakes, she said at the time, is plastic.
In particular, microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics can pose health risks when ingested over time.
Now, a member of Michigan's congressional delegation is aiming to tackle it.
According to information and an advance copy of legislation obtained by 13 ON YOUR SIDE, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Michigan) is set to introduce a bill in Congress this week aimed at helping to fund and facilitate research on how plastic exposure impacts health.
"It's time, particularly as it pertains to plastics and public health, that we move past alarming headlines and actually get access to data," Stevens told 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
The Plastic Health Research Act, as it's been named, would allocate $10 million each year from 2026 through 2030 to coordinate and expand research programs, as well as fund grants meant to "conduct scientific research on plastic exposure and the potential health effects stemming from such exposure."
"This I just kept seeing in terms of plastic health coming up again and again and not enough backing for research," she said. "I've talked to researchers at our national National Institute[s] of Health. They helped me weigh in on this legislation, private sector partners who are actually in the chemical manufacturing process, but also want to see fair studies get done, alongside environmental groups and our universities."
According to the bill's language, grants could be awarded to "public entities, nonprofit entities, academic research institutions, or consortia of such entities" that apply for them.
$10 million each year during that same timeframe would also be put toward awarding grants or making agreements with these same types of entities to support what it calls "centers of excellence."
These centers would be tasked with work to "conduct and improve the quality of scientific research to inform public health determinations and increase public awareness (where scientifically warranted) with respect to the potential health effects caused by plastic exposure."
"Our environmental groups certainly have goals that oftentimes are not too different than our universities and our government actors, and certainly even where the private sector is," she said. "We all want the best health outcomes."
But a major potential curveball to the effort, if passed, could come from recent moves designed to reshape the federal bureaucracy.
Specifically, the legislation deals with entities like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has found itself a prime target of efforts to downsize the federal government and its workforce.
13 ON YOUR SIDE asked Stevens whether those efforts could impact the ability to carry out the intent of the bill.
"I do worry about unfair budget cuts, particularly when there are taxpayer dollars that have gone into things that we as taxpayers have benefited from," she responded.
She's hoping that its bipartisan support - including from Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma), whom her office said would introduce the bill alongside her - will broaden its appeal and protect its mission.
"I want to see this legislation get done," she said. "I know this is going to be important for our country. Just look at who's endorsing it. Look at the fact that it's bipartisan and a step in the right direction for us."
###