Risk Evaluation for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP)

In December 2025, EPA released the final risk evaluation for dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) for public comment and peer review. EPA designated DCHP as a High-Priority Substance in December 2019.

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

On this page:

• What is DCHP?
• Risk Evaluation 
• Risk Evaluation and Supporting Documents
• Draft Risk Evaluation and Supporting Documents

What is DCHP?

DCHP (CASRN 84-61-7) is a granular solid at room temperature. The primary use for DCHP is as a plasticizer in adhesives and plastic and rubber products and resins. Information from the 2016 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) for DCHP indicates the reported production volume is between 500 thousand and 1 million lbs/year.

Risk Evaluation

In the risk evaluation, EPA determined that DCHP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health for workers from inhalation exposure. Exposure to DCHP can harm the developing male reproductive system, in a phenomenon known as “phthalate syndrome” (e.g., decreased fetal testicular testosterone, male reproductive tract malformations, male nipple retention, and decreased male fertility).

Workers may be exposed to DCHP when making products or otherwise using DCHP in the workplace. When it is manufactured or used to make products, DCHP can be released into the water where most of it will end up in the sediment at the bottom of lakes and rivers. If released into the air, DCHP will attach to dust particles and be deposited on land or into water. Indoors, DCHP has the potential over time to come out of products and adhere to dust particles. If it does, people could inhale or ingest dust that contains DCHP.   

EPA did not specifically evaluate uses and potential exposure pathways which are not, by statute, covered by TSCA, such as food packaging. Past assessments of DCHP have concluded that DCHP does not pose risk to human health, or the environment, based on its concentration in products and the environment. Notably, both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s and Health Canada’s risk assessments included consideration of exposure from children’s products as well as from other sources such as personal care products, diet, consumer products, and the environment. EPA shows that DCHP does not pose unreasonable risk to the environment, the general population or consumers.

Risk Evaluation and Supporting Documents

View the supporting documents in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0504.

• Risk Evaluation for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (3.92 MB)
• Nontechnical Summary of the TSCA Risk Evaluation for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (210.37 KB)
• Physical Chemistry and Fate and Transport Assessment for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (1.28 MB)
• Environmental Release and Occupational Exposure Assessment for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (4.32 MB)
• Consumer and Indoor Dust Exposure Assessment for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (1.78 MB)
• Environmental Media and General Population and Environmental Exposure for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (1.66 MB)
• Environmental Hazard Assessment for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (428.27 KB)
• Non-cancer Human Health Hazard Assessment for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (pdf) (2.29 MB)
• 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) (2.98 MB)
• Consumer Exposure Analysis for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (xlsx) (1.22 MB)
• Ambient Air Exposure Assessment for Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP) (xlsx) (82.92 KB)
• 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) Under the (pdf) (4 MB)
• Response to Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) Recommendations Regarding Peer Review of the Draft Risk Evaluations of Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), and the Technical Support Docu (pdf) (1.03 MB)
• Response to Public Comments on the Draft Risk Evaluations for Butyl Benzyl Phthalate (BBP); Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP); Dicyclohexyl Phthalate (DCHP); Diethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP); and Diisobutyl Phthalate (DIBP): EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0501; EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-050 (pdf) (2.11 MB)

Additional technical support files for the Risk Evaluation of DCHP (zip) .

Draft Risk Evaluation and Supporting Documents

In January 2025, EPA released the draft risk evaluation for public comment. For more information, please visit the draft risk evaluation webpage.