EPA to Regulate Phthalate Chemicals and 1,3-Butadiene Due to Health Risks
The EPA plans to impose new regulations on several phthalate chemicals and 1,3-butadiene after extensive risk evaluations. Five specific phthalates—BBP, DBP, DCHP, DEHP, and DIBP—are targeted for their unreasonable risks to workers and the environment, including potential hormone disruption. Additionally, nearly a dozen industrial uses of 1,3-butadiene, a gas used in manufacturing, were found to pose health risks to workers, such as cancer and anemia. The agency will draft rules to eliminate or reduce these identified risks.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to implement new regulations targeting specific phthalate chemicals and 1,3-butadiene, following extensive risk evaluations. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated that after a comprehensive assessment, the agency identified unreasonable risks to workers and the environment from these substances. Phthalates, commonly used as plasticizers in products like adhesives, flooring, and textiles, have been linked to hormone disruption and reproductive issues. The EPA intends to regulate dozens of uses for five specific phthalates: butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), citing concerns over health effects like endocrine disruption, particularly from high exposure levels. For instance, BBP and DEHP were found to pose significant risks across multiple worker and environmental use categories.Moving forward, the EPA will draft rules in consultation with workers, businesses, and community groups to eliminate or reduce these identified risks through measures such as personal protective equipment and engineering controls. In a separate but related announcement, the EPA also plans to regulate nearly a dozen industrial uses of 1,3-butadiene, a colorless gas found in products like car tires and paints. A six-year review revealed potential unreasonable risks to workers who inhale the chemical in 11 industrial settings, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes including reduced birthweight pregnancies, anemia, leukemia, and bladder cancer. While consumer exposure levels are deemed safe, the regulations aim to provide robust, practical safeguards for industrial workers, with a commitment to adapt rules as new science emerges.
