Citation:

Lazorchak, J., V. Hanley, K. Nimmer, AND G. Martin. Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC) Microplastics Outreach Toolkit. 2023 SETAC North America Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY, November 12 - 16, 2023.

Impact/Purpose:

Although microplastics are small — plastic debris less than five millimeters long — they pose one of the largest emerging threats to the global environmental community today. Microplastics have been introduced to the environment over the last 50 years through plastic refuse which has been broken down, and particles in health and beauty products which have entered the waste stream. Because of their small size and pervasiveness in the environment, microplastics, along with any other contaminants which are adhered to the microplastics, are consumed by humans and other organisms. Recent studies have shown their harmful effects on environmental media, due to their chemical nature and persistence. The ITRC Microplastics Team seeks to provide information on microplastics and the state of the applied science without diving deep into the scientific literature.

Description:

The Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC) is a state-led environmental coalition working to create innovative solutions and best management practices (BMPs) for the environmental sector. ITRC produces guidance documents and trainings that broaden and deepen technical knowledge and expedites quality regulatory decision making while protecting human health and the environment. ITRC is a program of the Environmental Research Institute of the States (ERIS), a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the District of Columbia and managed by the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS). ITRC represents all 50 states with membership from state, federal, tribal, and international agencies, as well as members from academia, the private sector, and the public. A recent ITRC activitiy was to develop a microplastics (MP) guidance document. The  guidance introduces the topic of MP (Section 1), information on how they move and where they can be found in the environment (Section 2), sampling and analysis considerations (Section 3), information on human health and environmental effects (Section 4), a summary of current laws and regulations (Section 5), and technologies that can be used to abate and mitigate MP in the environment (Section 6).  Additionally, there is a discussion regarding the current data gaps and recommendations for future research and regulatory actions (Section 7). Online trainings on the guidance document are provided quarterly through USEPA CLU-IN platform.  In February 2023 the ITRC started to develop an outreach toolkit to provide resources for environmental professionals to use in communicating MP issues to lawmakers and members of the public. Here is a link to the Microplastics Guidance: https://mp-1.itrcweb.org/.

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