Deletion of 2-Butoxyethyl Benzoate (2-BEB) from the Glycol Ethers Category of the Clean Air Act List of Hazardous Air Pollutants
Summary
Section 112(b)(3)(A) of the CAA specifies that any person may petition the Administrator to modify the list of HAP contained in CAA section 112(b)(1) by adding or deleting a substance. The Administrator must grant or deny such a petition to delete a HAP within 18 months after receipt of a complete petition. Section 112(b)(3)(C) sets out the substantive criteria for granting a petition to delete a HAP from the CAA section 112(b)(1) HAP list under CAA section 112(b)(3)(A).
On September 30, 2019, the Dow Chemical Company submitted a petition to delete 2-BEB (CAS No. 5451-76-3) from the glycol ethers category of the CAA section 112(b)(1) HAP list. Following the receipt of the petition, EPA conducted a preliminary evaluation to determine whether the petition was complete according to Agency criteria. To be deemed complete, a petition must consider all available health and environmental effects data. A petition must also provide comprehensive emissions data, including peak and annual average emissions for each source or for an appropriately selected subset of sources, and must estimate the resulting exposures of people living in the vicinity of the sources. In addition, a petition must address the environmental impacts associated with emissions to the ambient air and impacts associated with the subsequent cross-media transport of those emissions. The Agency determined the September 30, 2019, petition to be incomplete, and requested additional information from the petitioner. After receiving additional submittals from the petitioner through August 13, 2021, EPA determined the petition to delete 2-BEB to be complete. EPA notified the petitioner by electronic mail of this determination on November 24, 2021.
EPA has made an initial determination that there is adequate data on the health and environmental effects of 2-BEB to determine that emissions, ambient concentrations, bioaccumulation, or deposition of 2-BEB may not reasonably be anticipated to cause adverse human health or environmental effects. This action includes a detailed rationale for granting the petition to delete 2-BEB from the glycol ethers category of HAP under section 112(b)(1) list of HAP. If, after opportunity for public comment and review of those comments, EPA makes the final determination to grant the petition, then 2-BEB will be deleted from the list of HAP in the same action.
Petition Review History
12/17/2025 - Proposed Rule
11/24/2021 - EPA acknowledging the DOW petition is complete (pdf)
8/13/2021 - Final additional submittal to EPA (pdf)
9/30/2019 - Dow submitted a petition to delist 2-BEB from the Glycol Ethers Category of the HAP list (pdf)
Additional Resources
12/17/2025 - Proposed Rule Fact Sheet (pdf)