Plastic Health Research Act

H.R. 4903, the Plastic Health Research Act, would add a new framework to the Public Health Service Act to expand and coordinate federal research on plastic exposure and its potential health effects. The bill creates a dedicated program (Section 399V-8) that tasks the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work with EPA, FDA, NOAA, NIST, and NIEHS to fund and conduct research, improve scientific methods, and develop standards for measuring macroplastics, microplastics, and nanoplastics. It emphasizes high-quality, reproducible research, standardized definitions, validated testing methods, and reference materials to improve comparability across studies. The Act also authorizes a funding level of $10 million per year from 2026 to 2030 and requires annual reports to Congress. In addition, it establishes Centers of Excellence for Plastic Exposure Health Research (Section 463C) to plan, establish, or strengthen research centers focused on defining exposures, assessing hazards and risks, and increasing public awareness. These centers would receive grants for 5-year terms (renewable) and are expected to coordinate with other federal agencies and share findings.