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. 2015 Feb 1;123(2):A34–A41. doi: 10.1289/ehp.123-A34

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Polyethylene microbeads (orange, shown with yellow flakes of silica) are used as defoliants in many personal care products. In June 2014 Illinois became the first U.S. state to ban the manufacture and sale of products containing microbeads, which are small enough to slip through filters at wastewater treatment plants.

© Steve Gschmeissner/Science Source

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