The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 16, 2019, that it is opening a public comment period for manufacturer requests for the risk evaluations of diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP), two chemicals used in plastic production.  EPA notes that the manufacturer-requested risk evaluations “are among the first such evaluations of this kind to be requested” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA is also taking public comments on additional conditions of use it identified to include in the risk evaluations.  Upon publication of the Federal Register notices, comments may be submitted to Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0435 for DIDP and Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0436 for DINP for 45 days.  EPA encourages comments on any information not included in the manufacturer requests that commenters believe would be needed to conduct a risk evaluation.  EPA also welcomes any other information relevant to the proposed determinations of the conditions of use, including information on other conditions of use of the chemicals than those included in the manufacturer requests or in EPA’s proposed determinations.  After the comment period closes, EPA will review the comments and within 60 days either grant or deny the requests to conduct risk evaluations.  If these requests are granted, the manufacturers would be responsible for half the cost of the risk evaluations.