Risk Evaluation for Di-ethylhexyl phthalate - (1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (DEHP)

In June 2025, EPA released the draft risk evaluation and associated technical support documents for di-ethylhexyl phthalate - (1,2-Benzene- dicarboxylic acid, 1,2- bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (DEHP) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for public comment and peer review by the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC).

EPA designated DEHP as a High-Priority Substance in December 2019 and the chemical is currently undergoing risk evaluation.

Find other information about other chemicals undergoing risk evaluations under TSCA. 

On this page:

• Risk Evaluation Findings
• Background on DEHP
• Conditions of Use of DEHP
• Recent Activities and Opportunities for Public Comment
• Draft Risk Evaluation and Supporting Documents

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Risk Evaluation Findings

EPA is preliminarily determining that DEHP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health based on identified risk to workers from 13 COUs, and that DEHP presents an unreasonable risk to the environment from 20 COUs. After considering the risks posed under the COUs, EPA did not preliminarily identify a risk of injury to human health or the environment from the other COUs for DEHP. For COUs with identified risk to workers, these preliminary risk determinations do not reflect the use of PPE; however, as the draft risk evaluation shows, the use of PPE may reduce exposures and mitigate risk. EPA did not preliminarily identify unreasonable risk of injury to human health for the general population for DEHP from any COU. EPA did not preliminarily identify any COUs for DEHP for which the addition of cumulative exposure contributed to unreasonable risk to human health. 

Background on DEHP

DEHP is a colorless liquid at room temperature, most commonly used as a plasticizer. As reported to EPA during the 2016 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) period and described here as a range to protect production volumes that were claimed as confidential business information (CBI), aggregate production volume of DEHP in 2015 was between 100 million and 250 million pounds.

Condition of Use of DEHP

In the final scope, EPA identified conditions of use associated with the importing; processing; distribution in commerce; industrial, commercial and consumer uses; and disposal of DEHP, for example:

• In paint and coating manufacturing, industrial polish;
• Plasticizer in plastic material and resin manufacturing;
• In industrial and commercial aircraft interiors and aerospace products and adhesives; and
• In commercial and consumer products, including paints and coatings, fabric, lawn care, fabric, textile, and leather products.

The above listed conditions of use are ways that a person or the environment could be potentially exposed to this chemical. However, when conducting a risk evaluation, EPA also considers the hazards (i.e., health effects or environmental impacts) that could occur from coming in contact with a chemical.

Recent Activities and Opportunities for Public Comment

In June 2025, EPA released the draft risk evaluation for public comment and peer review. EPA also released a draft carcinogenicity assessment and an addendum to the draft cumulative risk for the five phthalates currently undergoing peer review. These five phthalates are DEHP, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP). EPA will accept comments on these documents for 60 days via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0433 on regulations.gov. See this schedule here for more information. In addition, EPA's SACC will peer review the draft risk evaluation on August 4-8, 2025. Additional information will be forthcoming. 

In August 2020, EPA published a final scope document outlining the hazards, exposures, conditions of use, and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations the agency expects to consider in its risk evaluation. The agency released the draft scope in April 2020 and took public comments on the draft document.

• Read the final scope of the risk evaluation for this chemical and EPA’s response to comments on the draft scope. 
• View the docket for this chemical, EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0433 on regulations.gov.

In addition to public comment periods, EPA will continue to engage with stakeholders as it refines the risk evaluation and stakeholders should reach out to EPA via the staff contact to engage with the agency.

Draft Risk Evaluation and Supporting Documents

View the supporting documents in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0433. 

• Draft Risk Evaluation for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (pdf) (5.05 MB)
• Draft Systematic Review Protocol for Di-ethylhexyl Phthalate (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (2.56 MB)
• Data Quality Evaluation and Data Extraction Information for Physical and Chemical Properties for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (1.07 MB)
• Data Quality Evaluation and Data Extraction Information for Environmental Fate and Transport for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (3.69 MB)
• Data Quality Evaluation and Data Extraction Information for Environmental Release and Occupational Exposure for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (3.17 MB)
• Data Quality Evaluation and Data Extraction Information for Dermal Absorption for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (665.13 KB)
• Data Extraction Information for General Population, Consumer, and Environmental Exposure for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (613.71 KB)
• Data Quality Evaluation Information for General Population, Consumer, and Environmental Exposure for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (4.42 MB)
• Data Quality Evaluation Information for Human Health Hazard Epidemiology for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (2.24 MB)
• Data Quality Evaluation Information for Human Health Hazard Animal Toxicology for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (1.59 MB)
• Data Quality Evaluation Information for Environmental Hazard for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (3.42 MB)
• Data Extraction Information for Environmental Hazard and Human Health Hazard Animal Toxicology and Epidemiology for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (pdf) (3.88 MB)
• Draft Physical Chemistry, Fate, and Transport Assessment for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (pdf) (1.04 MB)
• Draft Environmental Release and Occupational Exposure Assessment for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 1,2-bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester) (DEHP) (pdf) (7.48 MB)
• Draft Consumer and Indoor Exposure Assessment for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (pdf) (3.62 MB)
• Draft Environmental Media Concentrations and General Population and Environmental Exposure Assessment for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (pdf) (4.46 MB)
• Draft Environmental Hazard Assessment for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (pdf) (874.85 KB)
• Draft Non-cancer Human Health Hazard Assessment for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (pdf) (3.97 MB)
• Draft Cancer Human Health Hazard Assessment for Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP), Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP), and Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (3.11 MB)
• Draft Occupational Risk Calculator for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (xlsx) (269.2 KB)
• Draft Fish Ingestion Risk Calculator for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (xlsx) (61.68 KB)
• Draft Ambient Air IIOAC Exposure Results and Risk Calcs for DEHP for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (xlsx) (57.96 KB)
• Draft Consumer Risk Calculator for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (xlsx) (319.19 KB)
• Draft Consumer Exposure Analysis for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (xlsx) (9.89 MB)
• Draft Surface Water Human Exposure Calculator for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (xlsx) (111.11 KB)
• Draft Occupational and Consumer Cumulative Risk Calculator for Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) (xlsx) (379.73 KB)
• Draft Meta-analysis and Benchmark Dose Modeling of Fetal Testicular Testosterone for Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP), Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP), and Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (2.06 MB)
• Draft Technical Support Document for the Cumulative Risk Analysis of Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP), Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP), Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP), and Diisononyl Phthalate (DINP) (pdf) (3.43 MB)
• Revised Draft Technical Support Document for the Cumulative Risk Analysis of Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP), Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP), Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP), and Diisononyl Phthalate (pdf) (3.74 MB)