New $144 Million Federal Initiative Targets the Removal of Microplastics from the Human Body

National News - The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced a $144 million nationwide initiative today.

This program is named STOMP (Systematic Targeting Of MicroPlastics). It is designed to develop methods for measuring, researching, and removing microplastics and nanoplastics from the human body.

"Today, HHS is taking decisive action to confront microplastics as a growing threat to human health," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "Americans deserve clear answers about how microplastics in their bodies affect their health. Through ARPA-H's STOMP program, we will measure microplastic exposure, identify sources of risk, and develop targeted solutions to reduce it."

Plastic particles from food, water, and the environment accumulate in human tissue. Researchers have identified microplastics in lungs, arterial plaques, and brain tissue.

Current measurement techniques are inconsistent across laboratories, and the specific health impacts of different plastic types remain undetermined.

"Microplastics are in every organ we look at-in ourselves and in our children. But we don't know which ones are harmful or how to remove them," said Alicia Jackson, Ph.D., ARPA-H Director. "Nobody wants unknown particles accumulating in their body. The field is working in the dark. STOMP is turning on the lights."

The STOMP program is led by Program Managers Dr. Ileana Hancu and Dr. Shannon Greene. The initiative is structured across two phases. Phase one focuses on measurement and mechanism. Phase two focuses on removal. The tools developed are intended to be affordable and widely accessible to lower potential healthcare costs.

"A key first step is to measure microplastics accurately and understand how they reach different organ systems," said ARPA-H Program Manager Ileana Hancu, Ph.D. "So we must establish a solid, shared foundation for precise measurement and mapping."

During the first phase, standard measurement methods will be established. A clinical test will be created to quantify individual microplastic levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will act as an independent validator for these methods.

This phase will also generate a system to rank plastic materials based on their biological harm.

ARPA-H Program Manager Shannon Greene, Ph.D. noted, "It's physically impossible for us to completely divorce our lives from plastics. They are in everything we touch-our clothes, the materials from which we get our food and water. We need to understand how microplastics are distributed throughout the body and what harm they are causing before we can take the next leap forward to ultimately remove them and improve human health."

The second phase of the program concentrates on the removal of microplastics. Interventions will be designed using principles of pharmaceutical biology and bioremediation. These technologies are intended to assist healthcare providers in detecting and reducing microplastics in vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, children, and patients with chronic diseases.

ARPA-H is currently encouraging multidisciplinary teams with various technical expertise to submit proposals to address the objectives of the STOMP program.