Microplastic pollution is an emerging but underregulated threat to public health (1–3). Microplastics have the potential to harm human organs and biological systems (4 –6), yet no country has yet established standards to regulate their presence in drinking water. The US state of California has implemented standardized microplastic testing for drinking water (7), and the European Union (EU) introduced a harmonized measurement methodology across its Member States in 2024 (8), but these initiatives lack full regulatory integration. To protect public health, international health authorities and governments should identify and mitigate microplastic contamination by incorporating microplastic limits into drinking water standards.
