EPA Releases Draft Documents on Four Chemicals

Draft documents on four chemicals found in fragrances, paints, coatings, cleaners, and industrial processes are available from EPA for public comment and independent scientific review, the agency announced on April 10. 

An EPA draft risk evaluation of phthalic anhydride found unreasonable risk to workers from dermal and inhalation exposure in 36 conditions of use. EPA describes phthalic anhydride as a “strong” respiratory and skin sensitizer and states that the agency “will move quickly, after peer review and public comment, to finalize the risk evaluation,” which may lead to a proposed rule for risk management. 

EPA’s draft risk evaluation proposes an occupational exposure value of 0.002 ppm for phthalic anhydride as an eight-hour, time-weighted average, and a short-term, 15-minute exposure limit of 0.046 ppm. The OSHA permissible exposure limit and the NIOSH recommended exposure limit for phthalic anhydride are 2 ppm and 1 ppm, respectively, as eight-hour TWAs. Neither agency has adopted a short-term exposure limit for the substance.

EPA also released a draft risk evaluation of the chemical HHCB, a fragrance ingredient, but did not find any unreasonable risks in 22 conditions of use.

Draft hazard assessments of the chemicals p-dichlorobenzene (pDCB) and o-dichlorobenzene (oDCB) found that exposure can affect the liver, kidneys, respiratory system, and the nervous and reproductive systems. According to EPA, pDCB exposure “is not likely” to cause cancer, and a formal cancer assessment of oDCB “is not warranted,” but the agency invited scrutiny of its findings by experts and the public. 

Comments on the documents are due May 29. A virtual public meeting of the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals will take place June 8–12 to discuss the draft risk evaluations of HHCB and phthalic anhydride as well as the draft hazard assessments of pDCB and oDCB. 

For more information, read EPA’s press release and the Federal Register notice. Additional information and documents are available from EPA’s webpages for HHCB, phthalic anhydride, oDCB, and pDCB.