EPA Will Regulate 15 Uses of 1,2-Dichloroethane to Protect American Workers
EPA charts a clear path forward for targeted, science-based worker protections that safeguard sensitive populations and support American manufacturing.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will move to regulate 15 industrial and commercial uses of 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to protect workers from unreasonable risks identified in the agency's final risk evaluation.
The decision follows a rigorous, multi-year scientific review that drew on the best available real-world data, extensive public comment, and external peer review by the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). The evaluation found that 1,2-DCA presents an unreasonable risk to workers in 15 of 20 conditions of use, driven by inhalation and skin exposure on the job. EPA did not identify unreasonable risk to consumers, the general population, including communities with high fish consumption such as Tribal communities or other communities that rely on locally caught fish, or the environment under the conditions of use evaluated.
1,2-DCA, also called ethylene dichloride (EDC), is a colorless liquid at the heart of American manufacturing and serves as the essential building block for vinyl chloride monomer, the feedstock for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). More than 90 percent of the 30 to 40 billion pounds of 1,2-DCA produced or imported in the United States each year goes into making PVC. The U.S. is one of the world's leading producers of PVC and its precursors, with the industry concentrated along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana and supporting American manufacturing jobs. EPA's action is designed to protect workers in this vital industry.
A Backbone Material, PVC, in America's Infrastructure, Healthcare, and Homes:
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Water and sanitation infrastructure, including drinking water mains, service lines, sewer pipes, and irrigation systems. PVC pipe is a backbone of municipal water systems and a core material in the federal lead-pipe replacement effort.
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Electrical and telecommunications, including wire and cable insulation, conduit, and jacketing.
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Building and construction, including vinyl siding, window frames, doors, flooring, roofing membranes, and wall coverings.
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Healthcare, including IV bags, blood bags, dialysis tubing, oxygen masks, and a wide range of single-use medical devices that depend on PVC's flexibility, biocompatibility, and ability to be sterilized.
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Transportation and consumer goods, including automotive interiors and wire harnesses, packaging, footwear, and countless household products.
As required by law and consistent with the agency's commitment to safeguarding sensitive populations, EPA specifically evaluated risks to people who may be more vulnerable due to age, life stage, genetics, or preexisting health conditions, including children, pregnant women, women of childbearing age, workers, and Tribal and subsistence communities that rely on locally caught fish. Given the human health hazard assessment findings that male reproductive toxicity is a sensitive endpoint and the agency’s commitment to protecting future generations, the forthcoming workplace rule will be designed to be especially protective of several critical life stages, including males, pregnant workers, and women of childbearing age.
Informed by robust gold standard scientific review, EPA’s conclusions reflect:
- The best available laboratory and exposure science, including findings of kidney toxicity, respiratory (nasal) toxicity, male reproductive toxicity, and cancer risk from repeated workplace exposure;
- Real-world workplace data submitted by industry, workers, and the public, which replaced overly conservative default assumptions where better information was available;
- Independent expert peer review by the SACC; and
- Widely accepted exposure assessment approaches drawn from EPA's Office of Air and Radiation and other expert programs.
Radical transparency. Every document underlying this decision, including the full risk evaluation, technical support documents, peer review record, and public comments, will soon be available in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0427 at regulations.gov. EPA is committed to showing its work through radical transparency. The agency will continue to publish data, methods, and analyses so that workers, employers, scientists, and the public can see exactly how conclusions were reached and regulations are informed.
The agency will continue to review the latest peer-reviewed research, monitoring data, and information from workplaces and communities to ensure regulations remain rooted in the most robust universe of evidence available. Two byproducts formed during 1,2-DCA manufacture — trans-1,2-dichloroethylene and 1,1,2-trichloroethane — will be evaluated in separate TSCA risk evaluations.
What's next. EPA will now develop a TSCA Section 6(a) rule focused on the 15 conditions of use that drive workplace risk. The rulemaking will:
- Establish workplace protections, including engineering controls, exposure limits, and personal protective equipment where appropriate;
- Be informed by extensive consultation with workers, businesses, labor organizations, frontline communities, and state partners;
- Weigh health benefits, real-world feasibility, and economic impacts; and
- Provide clear, practical compliance pathways so that workers are protected and American manufacturing remains strong.
Read the final risk evaluation and supporting materials: Upon publication of the Federal Register notice, the risk evaluation and supporting materials will be available in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0427 at regulations.gov. The documents are available now at https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-evaluation-12-dichloroethane.
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