Background Risks from Dietary Exposure to Di- (2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalte (DEHP): Implications of Regulations in the Context of California’s Proposition 65. D. B. Mathur, D. G. Dodge, and D. J. Paustenbach, ChemRisk Service, McLaren/Hart, Inc. 1320 Harbor Bay Parkway, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94502-6578
DEHP is a chemical detected commonly at low levels in drinking water, air, food, and many other media. In California, under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as Proposition 65, the California EPA has established a No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) of 80 micrograms/day for DEHP, which would correspond to a theoretical increase of one excess cancer in 100,000. This NSRL was based on an increase in the incidence of adenomas and carcinomas in the rat liver. Alternative analysis of the same results incorporating new approaches to dose-response modeling have indicated that the NSRL for DEHP could be substantially higher. In this study, an analysis was conducted of some of the major contributors to background exposure to DEHP. The results of this analysis indicate that background exposures to DEHP are well in excess of the existing Proposition 65 NSRL. The implications of these findings will be discussed in light of the stringent regulation of this chemical by California EPA and other regulatory agencies. In addition, the impact of revising the Proposition 65 NSRL using more recent interpretations of dose-response data and more realistic interpretations of risks due to background exposures will be discussed.
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