ACC’s High Phthalates Panel Statement on EPA’s Final Risk Evaluation for DINP Under TSCA

WASHINGTON (Jan. 16, 2025) - Today, the American Chemistry Council's High Phthalates Panel issued the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) completion of a final manufacturer-requested risk evaluation for DINP under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):

"The ACC High Phthalates Panel recognizes the effort by EPA to generate a comprehensive risk evaluation for DINP that was requested in 2019 by the manufacturers of this substance under the 2016 amendments to TSCA.

"While ACC is still reviewing the final document in detail, High Phthalates Panel members welcome EPA's determination that uses of DINP regulated under TSCA do not pose unreasonable risk of injury to human health for consumers or the general population, or to the environment.

"This conclusion reconfirms DINP manufacturers' full confidence in the safety of DINP as currently used.

"In the final risk evaluation, EPA concluded that all 15 consumer uses and 28 out of 32 industrial and commercial uses EPA evaluated for DINP under TSCA are safe, which is approximately 97% of the produced volume. Uses such as resilient flooring, vinyl tiles, PVC-backed carpeting, automotive articles, plasticizer in building and construction materials, such as water supply piping, non-spray applications of paints and coatings, non-spray applications of adhesives and sealants, and recycling, to name a few, pose no unreasonable risk.

"This assessment of safety is key to manufacturer and consumer confidence: manufacturer-requested risk evaluations are an important tool for transparent, fair, and evidence-based risk evaluations and are the same level of rigor - the requirement to use the best available science and undergo expert peer review - as EPA-initiated risk evaluations.

"The final risk evaluation for DINP also identified 4 conditions of use that pose unreasonable risk only to average adults and female workers of reproductive age. However, these conditions (unprotected workers using spray-applied adhesives and sealants, or paints and coatings) are not likely to exist in industrial and commercial settings where automation and personal protective equipment is routinely used, and we question the relevance of the exposure conditions used as a basis for the conclusions. While only 3% or less of the DINP production volume in the U.S is in this application type (spray), we are committed to continue working with EPA during the risk management process and to supporting all parts of the value chain providing science-based information to demonstrate safe use of DINP for industrial and commercial workers."