Sure.
I think this is an area where we're illustrating the importance of updating our laws and regulations. This is an area where the science has evolved quite dramatically as our shifts in manufacturing and products have changed.
There is an emerging body of science that links exposure to microplastics with adverse human health outcomes. They have now detected microplastics in blood samples, so we are seeing it very deeply in the human body.
We know from research that there are connections between some of the things in plastics that are endocrine disrupting. In the prior panel, my colleague, Dr. Pétrin-Desrosiers, talked about some of the problems with endocrine-disrupting chemicals. We know that EDCs are connected to reproductive problems, breast cancer and other forms of cancer and thyroid problems.
We really do need to take seriously what we're seeing in the science—the new science, the emerging science and the existing science—about plastics.