Industry wins phthalates gamble

A decade ago, chemical makers saw the writing on the wall. Concerns about the toxicity of phthalates —inexpensive, versatile chemicals that are used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flexible—were prompting regulators to restrict their use, particularly in products for children. Retailers stopped selling items containing the most problematic phthalates, and manufacturers began seeking replacements. Today, companies are expanding capacity for nonphthalate PVC plasticizers. But they haven’t given up on phthalates. In the US, chemical manufacturers are betting on two—diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP)—as safer alternatives to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, the gold standard for PVC plasticizer performance. So far, they are winning that bet. In 2019, manufacturers asked the US Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate the human health risks of DIDP and DINP under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Companies typically don’t want regulatory scrutiny of their products, but in this case industry scientists were convinced that the EPA