RALEIGH, N.C. (WHKY) – North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is calling on federal environmental officials to track microplastics in the state’s drinking water. Jackson joined a coalition of eleven other attorneys general and the District of Columbia in a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency to add microplastics to its Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule.

Microplastics are tiny plastic pieces smaller than a quarter of an inch that have been linked to potential health risks, including organ damage and heart issues. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA can require public water systems to monitor unregulated contaminants, but it has not yet done so for microplastics.

Jackson stated that the monitoring is a necessary step to protect public health and understand the full scope of the problem.