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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2016/01/02/miccrobead-ban-signed-by-us-president-barack-obama.html">http://cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2016/01/02/miccrobead-ban-signed-by-us-president-barack-obama.html</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Microbead ban signed by President Obama
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">By Jareen Imam, CNN
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Updated 15:19 PM PHT Sat, January 2, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><img border="0" width="768" height="461" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D146E2.55528680" alt="http://cnnphilippines.com/incoming/atbi1w-Microbeads_CNNPH.png/alternates/FREE_768/Microbeads_CNNPH.png"></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The tiny plastic microbeads found in your exfoliating shower gel are now outlawed in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Highlights
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President Obama signs a bill banning an ingredient in exfoliating shower gels<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Microbeads are tiny particles of plastic that do not dissolve<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">(CNN) —</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Say goodbye to your
exfoliating shower gel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Those tiny plastic microbeads you have been rubbing on your face are now outlawed in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">President
<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/12/28/statement-press-secretary-hr-1321-s-2425" target="_blank">
Obama</a> signed a bipartisan bill that prohibits selling and distributing products containing microbeads. The bill is intended to
<a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr1321" target="_blank">protect the nation's waterways</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">A microbead is any solid plastic particle that is less than 5 millimeters and is used for the purpose of exfoliating
or cleansing, according to the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">These tiny plastic beads have become ubiquitous in hundreds of products ranging from
<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/19/us/8-trillion-microbeads-pollute-water-daily-irpt/" target="_blank">
body scrubs to toothpastes</a>. They provide an exfoliating sensation for users and are designed to wash down drains.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">But because they are made of plastic, microbeads do not dissolve and may pose a threat to the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In September, a study published in
<a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/acs.est.5b03909" target="_blank">
Environmental Science & Technology</a> reported that more than 8 trillion microbeads were entering the country's aquatic habitats daily. The volume was enough to coat the surface of 300 tennis courts every day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Microbeads have contributed to a greater increase in microplastic polluting the planet's oceans and lakes, researchers
say.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Not only are they hard to clean up because they are about the size of a pinhead, researchers say they are also
posing a threat to aquatic life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Some marine life mistake small plastic as food particles. Scientists are researching whether microplastics affect
the health of marine life once ingested and if chemicals transfer to humans who eat those species later, according to the
<a href="http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/types-and-sources-solutions/states-consider-plastic-microbead-bans" target="_blank">
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">This story was first published on CNN.com, "<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/30/health/obama-bans-microbeads/index.html?sr=fbCNN123115obama-bans-microbeads/0926PMStoryLink&linkId=20021370" target="_blank">Microbead
ban signed by President Obama</a>."</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#0000CC"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#0000CC"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#000099">Deborah L. DeBiasi<br>
<b>Email: <a href="mailto:Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov"><span style="color:#000099">Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov</span></a><i><br>
</i></b>WEB site address: <a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/"><span style="color:#000099">www.deq.virginia.gov</span></a><br>
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality<br>
Office of Water Permits <br>
Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program<br>
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#000099"><a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx"><span style="color:#000099">http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#000099">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218<br>
Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219<br>
PH: 804-698-4028 FAX: 804-698-4032</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:navy"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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