The U.S. Senate last week approved a bill to overhaul the nation’s chemical safety system, and a separate measure to ban the use of tiny plastic beads in beauty products that can pollute waterways and harm marine life.
The beads flush through water treatment systems and out into lakes, waterways and the oceans, and attract toxic chemical compounds like PCB that are then consumed by marine life. The beads, and other microplastic debris, have been identified as a threat to fish and other creatures, and studies have suggested that the chemicals can move up the food chain to humans.
On Friday, the Senate, by unanimous consent, adopted the bill banning the use of tiny plastic beads in beauty products, including exfoliating scrubs.
The House passed its version of the bill earlier this month. The new federal law would require manufacturers to begin phasing out the beads in July 2017, and would follow bans passed in several States, including California and Illinois. Many major cosmetics companies, under pressure from environmental groups, have already announced phase-out plans
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