WASHINGTON (September 20, 2023) — Today, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and Texas Chemical Council submitted a 60-day notice of intent to file suit for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to complete two manufacturer-requested risk evaluations (MRREs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
EPA has failed to complete MRREs for DINP and for DIDP by TSCA’s mandatory deadline of three years and six months from the date EPA initiated these risk evaluations. EPA initiated a risk evaluation for DINP on January 2, 2020, after it received a request from Evonik Corporation, ExxonMobil Chemical Company, and Teknor Apex through ACC’s High Phthalates Panel. In addition, EPA initiated a risk evaluation for DIDP on January 2, 2020, after it received a request from ExxonMobil Chemical Company through ACC’s High Phthalates Panel. EPA should have completed the MRREs for these two phthalates by July 2, 2023.
ACC issued the following statement upon submitting the notice:
“When EPA granted MRREs for di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) and di-isodecyl phthalate (DIDP), the Agency found the requests ‘facially complete’ and confirmed the Agency has ‘all the information needed to conduct the risk evaluations.’
“The right of manufacturers to request risk evaluations for substances they manufacture was fundamental to the bipartisan effort to amend TSCA through the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. The MRREs for DINP and DIDP are the first MRREs submitted to EPA under the Lautenberg Act.
“These MRREs should enable transparent, fair, and evidence-based risk evaluations of DINP and DIDP, which are used in hundreds of products that support affordable housing, hospitals, vehicles, and businesses. The MRREs for DINP and DIDP are critical for informing manufacturer reliance and consumer confidence on these phthalates. By delaying completion of these two MRREs, the EPA is leaving manufacturers and consumers in a state of uncertainty.
“DINP and DIDP are two of the most thoroughly studied compounds in the world and have been reviewed by numerous government regulatory agencies, including the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the Australian National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS), and Canada’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and Ministry of Health. These agencies found that these high molecular weight phthalates are safe as currently used.
“Consumers must have faith in the safety of the products that they use every day, and it is critical for the TSCA risk evaluation process to provide the most accurate assessment on chemical risks and hazards as possible. With over 20 years of research on DINP and DIDP, manufacturers have demonstrated their confidence in these products by requesting a TSCA risk evaluation to show the public that these phthalates are safe as currently used.
“It is critical that EPA performs its duty under TSCA – apply the best available science and to rely on the weight of the evidence – to complete the MRREs for DINP and DIDP.”
