The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 28, 2025, the release of a memorandum with additional context on occupational exposure data for di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). According to EPA, the memorandum provides clarifying information on the draft DEHP risk assessment by providing a calculation of the number of workers and occupational non-users (ONU) exposed to DEHP for each Occupational Exposure Scenario (OES) identified in the draft risk evaluation. EPA states that “[n]ormally, a primary difference between workers and ONUs is that workers may handle DEHP and have direct contact with the chemical, while ONUs do not directly handle DEHP but may be indirectly exposed to it as part of their employment. While the calculation of the numbers of different groups of workers that may be exposed to DEHP through each OES does not have implications for risk evaluation, information on the numbers of different groups of workers may inform the strategies for managing any risks identified in the risk evaluation.”

EPA notes that the memorandum also includes additional details on the inhalation monitoring data used to determine inhalation exposure of workers to DEHP in an occupational setting. According to EPA, these details clarify the number of personal breathing zone samples included in the exposure estimates. The memorandum also identifies the number of samples where, if there was DEHP in the air, it was at levels below the limit at which the monitoring equipment could detect DEHP (i.e., “non-detects”) and how EPA incorporated those values in calculating the inhalation exposure for each OES. EPA states that “[t]he details in this memo do not impact the inhalation exposure estimates presented in the Draft Risk Evaluation for DEHP released in June 2025.” Comments on the draft risk evaluation are due August 4, 2025.