EPA Releases Draft Charge Questions for SACC Meeting on Phthalates and Memorandum on a Proposed Refinement for Estimating Phthalate (DBP) Skin Exposures
Released June 16, 2025
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the release of the draft charge questions for discussion at the upcoming SACC meeting to review all documents released thus far on the risk evaluations of five phthalates. The documents under review include the draft risk evaluations for dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), as well as cross-cutting documents related to all five chemicals. The five phthalates are: DBP, DEHP, DCHP, butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), and diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP). In addition, EPA is also releasing a memorandum describing a proposed refinement of the approach for estimating skin exposures for DBP.
SACC Meeting
EPA will hold its virtual public meeting of the SACC on August 4 – 8, 2025, where the charge questions will guide the discussion. EPA will also hold a preparatory virtual public meeting on July 21, 2025, for the SACC and the public to consider and ask questions regarding the scope and clarity of the draft charge questions. EPA will publish registration links for the August SACC meeting and July preparatory meeting on the SACC website approximately one month prior to each meeting. If the public would like their comments on the documents related to the phthalates to be considered by the SACC during the peer review meeting, they must be submitted by July 21, 2025, to the peer review docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2024-0551 at www.regulations.gov. Read the draft charge questions.
Memorandum on DBP Dermal Absorption Data
The Draft Risk Evaluation for Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) includes skin exposure estimates which used skin absorption data from guinea pigs. The rate of skin absorption used for estimating occupational and consumer skin exposure was then refined using data that is more relevant to absorption through human skin, as described in the memorandum. The availability of chemical- and species-specific skin absorption data will allow for the implementation of a more refined approach for estimation of skin exposures in the final risk evaluation. Read the Memorandum.
Next Steps
After the agency has considered public comments and the feedback from the SACC, EPA will issue final risk evaluations for DBP, DEHP, BBP, DIBP and DCHP.