Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, AGENCY NEWS—EPA releases draft TSCA risk evaluation for ethylene dibromide, (Aug 19, 2026)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The EPA preliminarily identified workplace risks tied to multiple conditions of use and opened a 60-day comment period.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a draft risk evaluation for ethylene dibromide, an ingredient used in aviation fuel, under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), concluding on a preliminary basis that the chemical poses unreasonable risks to human health under certain conditions of use. The EPA found those risks are driven primarily by inhalation and dermal exposures affecting workers and occupational non-users, while the draft does not identify unreasonable risks to consumers, the general population, or the environment. The agency is accepting public comments through October 19, 2026, before seeking peer review and developing a final risk evaluation.

Draft evaluation released. The EPA said the purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether the substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under its conditions of use, including risks to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations, without consideration of costs or other non-risk factors.

According to the EPA, the draft evaluation was prepared using what the agency described as the best available science and a weight-of-the-scientific-evidence approach. The EPA stated in the notice that it has preliminarily determined that ethylene dibromide poses unreasonable risks to human health, driven primarily by certain conditions of use examined in the evaluation.

Chemical uses and exposure pathways. The EPA described ethylene dibromide as a colorless, sweet-smelling volatile organic chemical primarily used in fuels and related products as a lead scavenger in leaded aviation gasoline. The agency said workers may be exposed through liquid formulations and vapors during manufacturing, processing, distribution, use, and disposal activities, while occupational non-users may be exposed through vapor pathways. Consumers may encounter exposures during aircraft refueling activities involving aviation gasoline.

The agency stated that environmental releases may occur through stack and fugitive emissions, after which the chemical may undergo photodegradation or wet deposition. The EPA noted that releases to wastewater can also occur, with treated effluent potentially discharged from publicly owned treatment works.

Preliminary risk findings. In the draft evaluation, the EPA assessed acute, intermediate, and chronic non-cancer risks, as well as cancer risks, for workers and occupational non-users; acute and intermediate non-cancer and cancer risks for consumers; and acute and chronic non-cancer and cancer risks for the general population, including fenceline communities and potentially exposed susceptible subpopulations. The agency also evaluated acute and chronic risks to aquatic and terrestrial species.

The EPA stated in its accompanying announcement that the draft evaluation identifies significant contributions to unreasonable risk for workers and occupational non-users from inhalation and/or dermal exposure under 10 conditions of use. EPA further stated that, based on the reasonably available information, the draft evaluation does not identify unreasonable risk to consumers, the general population, or the environment from ethylene dibromide itself.

The agency said it preliminarily identified unreasonable non-cancer and cancer risks to workers from inhalation and dermal exposures across 10 of the 12 conditions of use evaluated. Four of those conditions of use also presented inhalation risks to occupational non-users, according to the EPA.

Relationship to aviation fuel regulation. The EPA emphasized that the draft evaluation addresses ethylene dibromide and not lead in aviation gasoline. In its announcement, the agency noted that its 2023 endangerment finding for aircraft lead emissions remains in effect and said it continues to support efforts aimed at transitioning away from leaded aviation fuel. The agency stressed that release of the draft evaluation does not change existing regulatory requirements or protections applicable to the chemical while the review process continues.

Information sought from stakeholders. The EPA is requesting comments on all aspects of the draft risk evaluation and highlighted several areas where it seeks additional information. Those include the representativeness of occupational exposure data, facility-specific operating information, exposure monitoring data, laboratory-use practices, engineering controls, personal protective equipment, aviation gasoline refueling activities, racing fuel-use patterns, disposal activities, and the agency's proposed occupational exposure values.

The agency also requested information regarding technologies or engineering controls introduced since the 1980s, exposure-reduction measures used during refueling operations, and the representativeness of high-end exposure estimates used for occupational inhalation and dermal exposure analyses.

Next steps under TSCA. Ethylene dibromide was designated a high-priority substance for risk evaluation in December 2019. EPA published a draft scope for the review in April 2020 and finalized that scope in September 2020.

Following the public comment period and review by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Chemicals, the EPA said it will issue a final risk evaluation. Under TSCA, the agency must then determine, based on the weight of the scientific evidence, whether the chemical presents an unreasonable risk under its conditions of use. If the EPA ultimately determines that unreasonable risk exists, the agency stated it would proceed with risk management actions under TSCA Section 6(a) to address the identified exposures.

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