Risk Management for Phthalates | US EPA
EPA is concerned about phthalates because of their toxicity and the evidence of pervasive human and environmental exposure to these chemicals. Phthalates are used in many industrial and consumer products, many of which pose potentially high exposure. Phthalates have been detected in food and also measured in humans.
A review of common non-ortho-phthalate plasticizers for use
Available assessments from US CPSC, EFSA, other governmental and non-governmental organizations, and published toxicology studies were used to show that these plasticizers are generally well-studied and demonstrate low toxicity with a focus on potential carcinogenicity, reproductive, developmental, and endocrine related adverse effects as well
Review of Exposure and Toxicity Data for Phthalate Substitutes
toxicology data. 1.2 Plasticizers, Phthalates and Children’s Toys 1.2.1 Plasticizer Use Plasticizers are substances – usually low-melting solids or high-boiling organic liquids – which, when added to hard plastics, improve their flexibility and durability. Plasticizers
A review of common non-ortho-phthalate plasticizers for use
Plasticizers reviewed in this paper were selected from non-ortho-phthalate plasticizers reported in a study by FDA staff (Carlos et al., 2018), from the relevant information in the List of Available Datasets from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 2025a), and from European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Journal evaluations published over
Phthalates Toxicity - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
Phthalates are a broad group of compounds that serve as plasticizers to impart flexibility and durability to products.[1][2] They are ubiquitous in the environment as millions of tons of plastic are produced yearly worldwide.[3]
- What is the clinical significance of phthalate toxicity?
- The clinical significance of phthalate toxicity depends largely on the type of individual phthalate, route of exposure, the quantity of exposure, and temporal duration of continued exposure. Phthalates and phthalate metabolites have been detected in most bodily fluids, including serum, urine, breast milk, and semen.
- Do phthalates from recycled plastics affect human health?
- We found no reviews of epidemiological human studies on the impact of phthalates from recycled plastics on human health. We recommend that future research should use urine samples as exposure measures, consider confounders in analyses and measure impacts on female reproductive systems.
- Does phthalate exposure affect other health outcomes?
- Other health outcomes We found single reviews reporting the effect of patient phthalate exposure on a range of other health outcomes, including atopic dermatitis, thyroid function, bone health, inflammation, oxidative stress and hearing loss, Table 23.
- Are phthalates safe?
- Health impacts of phthalates associated with exposures below current European Regulatory Levels deemed safe (indicated by the blue vertical line). Graphic produced using data from Maffini et al., 2019, Maffini et al., 2021, a review of 41 epidemiological studies which associated increased risk for human health effects with levels of phthalates.
- Are phthalates a risk factor for human health?
- Graphic produced using data from Maffini et al., 2019, Maffini et al., 2021, a review of 41 epidemiological studies which associated increased risk for human health effects with levels of phthalates. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
- Do human monitoring studies provide baseline levels of phthalate exposure?
- Human monitoring studies performed in Asia, America and Europe have provided the population exposure baseline levels for typical phthalates in different regions. Urine is the preferred matrix than other specimens for phthalate exposure study.
