2026年4月2日 / 美国东部时间下午3:41 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
撰稿：克里·布林 新闻编辑
克里·布林是CBSNews.com的新闻编辑，毕业于纽约大学亚瑟·L·卡特新闻学院，此前曾在NBC新闻《今日数字》栏目工作，负责报道时事、突发新闻以及包括物质使用障碍在内的相关议题。
查看完整简历
美国卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪周四宣布，该部将推出一项史无前例的项目，研究微塑料及其对人体的影响。
肯尼迪表示，这项耗资1.44亿美元的全国性项目将被命名为STOMP，全称是“微塑料系统性靶向研究”。该项目将汇集毒理学家、数据科学家及其他专家，打造可用于检测和量化人体内部微塑料的标准化工具，研究其对人体的影响，并开发针对性的体内微塑料清除策略。
“我们面对的并非遥远或理论上的风险，而是实实在在、且在人体内不断增多的污染物。”肯尼迪在援引研究指出人体器官、血液和胎盘中均检测到微塑料后说道。他表示，该项目的研究将优先覆盖风险最高的人群，包括孕妇、儿童和暴露率较高的职业人群。
微塑料是由大型塑料制品分解形成的微小颗粒，已在人体和外部环境中被检出。它们通过乱丢垃圾、暴雨径流等途径进入供水系统。据世界卫生组织数据，这类尺寸小于5毫米的颗粒无法通过传统水处理过滤方法完全去除。
美国环境保护署（EPA）署长李·泽尔丁同时宣布，该机构首次将微塑料纳入污染物候选名录，为未来出台相关监管规定铺平了道路。
根据EPA官网信息，污染物候选名录收录的是目前尚未纳入现行或拟议饮用水监管范围，但“已知或预计会出现在公共供水系统中”的物质。将某一物质列入该名录本身并不会对其进行监管或限制使用，但会优先为相关研究、信息收集工作提供资金支持，以进一步了解这些物质对饮用水的影响。
“这直接回应了数百万美国人的关切，他们长期以来一直要求获得有关自己和家人每日饮用水安全的答案。”泽尔丁说道。
哥伦比亚广播公司新闻医疗撰稿人、凯泽家庭基金会公共卫生特约编辑塞琳·贡德博士表示，将微塑料纳入污染物候选名录“是一个漫长进程的开端，而非终点”。
“研究人员已经发现，微塑料广泛存在于水体和人体中，这暗示了潜在的健康风险，但我们目前尚未掌握监管机构设定合法限值所需的那种确凿证据。”贡德说道。
阻碍设定合法限值的一大难题是缺乏标准化的微塑料测量体系，也没有全国性数据能够确切说明微塑料对饮用水的实际影响程度。贡德还指出，还需要“更明确的证据，将典型暴露水平与特定健康后果联系起来”。
泽尔丁宣布的这份污染物候选名录（即CCL 6）仍为草案，在最终定稿前将设有60天的公众意见征询期。该名录每五年更新一次。
泽尔丁表示，药品也将被纳入这份污染物候选名录。他指出，人类排泄物和不当处置的药品会将药物成分带入供水系统。EPA还公布了374种药品的人类健康基准值，为监管机构“在发现令人担忧的药物残留水平时评估风险并采取行动提供了关键新工具”。
现行的CCL 5名录包含66种化学物质、12种微生物以及三类化学群组：全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）、消毒副产物和蓝藻毒素。拟议中的CCL 6名录则包含75种化学物质、9种微生物以及四类化学群组：PFAS、消毒副产物、药品和微塑料。CCL 6将移除作为化学群组的蓝藻毒素，即部分藻类产生的化合物。
预计在公众意见征询期结束，且EPA咨询其独立科学顾问委员会后，CCL 6将于2026年11月17日前正式签署生效。
关于如何减少微塑料暴露，贡德建议避免饮用瓶装水、不在塑料容器中加热食物，并改善室内空气质量——因为水和空气是主要的暴露途径。但由于微塑料无处不在，完全避免接触几乎是不可能的，贡德补充道。
斯蒂芬·史密斯 编辑
HHS announces $144 million program to study effect of microplastics on the human body
April 2, 2026 / 3:41 PM EDT / CBS News
By Kerry Breen News Editor
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
Read Full Bio
The Department of Health and Human Services will is introducing a first-of-its-kind program to study microplastics and the effect they have on the human body, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday.
Kennedy said the $144 million national program will be called STOMP, which stands for “Systemic Targeting of MicroPlastics.” The program will bring toxicologists, data scientists and other experts together to create standardized tools capable of detecting and quantifying microplastics in the human body, research the effect they have on humans, and develop targeted strategies to remove them from the body, Kennedy said.
“We are not dealing with a distant or theoretical risk. We are dealing with a measurable, growing presence inside the human body,” Kennedy said, after citing research that showed microplastics present in human organs, blood and the placenta. The program’s research will prioritize those at greatest risk, he said, including pregnant people, children and workers with high exposure rates.
Microplastics are tiny particles from larger plastic items that have been detected in the human body and external sources. They enter the water supply through littering, storm runoff, and more. The particles, which are less than five millimeters in size, cannot be fully removed by traditional water filtration methods, according to the World Health Organization.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin also announced that the agency has added microplastics to its contaminant candidate list for the first time, opening the door for future regulations.
The contaminant candidate list is a list of substances that are not subject to proposed or existing drinking water regulations, but are “known or anticipated to occur in public water systems,” according to the EPA’s website. Adding a substance to the list does nothing to regulate it or limit its use, but prioritizes funding, research and information collection to learn more about how these products affect drinking water.
“This is a direct response to the concern of millions of Americans who have long demanded answers about what they and their families are drinking every day,” Zeldin said.
Dr. Celine Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and KFF editor-at-large for public health, said adding microplastics to the CCL is “the beginning of a long timeline, not the end of one.”
“Researchers have found that microplastics are widespread in water and the human body, which suggests potential health risks, but we don’t yet have the kind of evidence regulators require to set legal limits,” Gounder said.
Complicating efforts to set legal limits is a lack of standardized measuring system for microplastics, and no national data showing how much microplastics are actually affecting drinking water. Gounder said there also needs to be “clearer evidence linking typical exposure levels to specific health outcomes.”
The contaminant candidate list that Zeldin announced, or CCL 6, is a draft. There will be a 60-day public comment period before it is finalized. The CCL is updated every five years.
Pharmaceuticals are also set to be added to the contaminant candidate list, Zeldin said. Medications enter the water supply through human waste and improper disposal, Zeldin said. The EPA has also released human health benchmarks for 374 pharmaceuticals, giving authorities a “critical new tool to assess risk and take action when drug residues are found at concerning levels,” Zeldin said.
The existing list, CCL 5, includes 66 chemicals, 12 microbes and three chemical groups: Pre- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, disinfection byproducts and cyanotoxins. The draft list for CCL 6 includes 75 chemicals, nine microbes and four chemical groups: PFAS, disinfection byproducts, pharmaceuticals and microplastics. CCL 6 removes cyanotoxins, or compounds produced by some algae, as a chemical group.
CCL 6 is expected to be signed by November 17, 2026, after the public comment period ends and after the EPA consults with its independent Science Advisory Board.
To reduce exposure to microplastics, Gounder recommends avoiding bottled water, not heating food in plastic containers, and improving indoor air quality, since water and air are the major exposure routes. But it is impossible to entirely avoid microplastics because of their prevalence, Gounder said.
Edited by Stephen Smith