What Is DEHP?

The EPA says DEHP is a clear, oily liquid that is primarily used as a plasticizer or stabilizing agent in the manufacture of adhesives, paints, coatings and rubbers, and is also used in PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and non-PVC plastic products across consumer, commercial and industrial applications. ATSDR says certain medical procedures, such as blood transfusions, kidney dialysis and use of respirators, can increase exposure if the plastic tubing contains DEHP, and that in men, increased exposure to DEHP has been linked with decreased testosterone and sperm motility, although no evidence of fertility problems has been seen in people.

The EPA has finished a TSCA risk evaluation of DEHP. It determined that DEHP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health based on identified risk to workers from 10 conditions of use and an unreasonable risk to the environment from 20 conditions of use, noted that its worker risk determinations do not reflect the use of personal protective equipment, and did not identify unreasonable risk to the general population or consumers from any condition of use. In a January 6, 2026 Federal Register notice, the EPA said BBP, DBP, DCHP, DEHP and DIBP pose unreasonable risk to human health or the environment driven by specific conditions of use, and that it will now initiate risk management action under TSCA section 6(a).

California lists DEHP under Proposition 65 as causing cancer, as of January 1, 1988, and as a reproductive toxicant, as of October 24, 2003. The FDA says that on May 27, 2026, it released a scientific evaluation of the eight phthalates currently authorized as plasticizers for food contact use, and that its findings support grouping four of them, DEHP, DCHP, DIOP and DINP, for a future cumulative risk assessment.