EPA To Place New Restrictions on TCEP Flame Retardants After Final Risk Evaluation

TCEP is a toxic “forever chemical,” often used in paints, aerospace products, fabrics, textiles and construction materials to make them less likely to burn.

Government regulators have determined that the chemical Tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) poses an “unreasonable risk” to the environment and human health, with the potential to cause cancer and damage the kidneys, nervous system and reproductive system.

TCEP is a colorless liquid, most often used as a flame retardant in aerospace products and paints, although it is also found in some fabrics and textiles. However, the chemical is known to leach out of materials, contaminating soil and water.

It is one of many man-made substances now commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” due to the slow speed at which it breaks down in the natural environment.  This can cause TCEP to build up in human bodies, as well as food sources, posing a number of serious health risks.

TCEP Flame Retardant Risk Evaluation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final risk evaluation for TCEP earlier this month, indicating that it will release a proposed rule under section six of the Toxic Substances Control Act to protect the environment and people from the substance.

After considering hazards, magnitudes and severity of risks, the EPA determined that TCEP poses an unnecessary danger to human health and the environment, since it can be ingested through dust particles from fabrics, wood and textiles, as well as eating fish contaminated with the chemical. Consuming large amounts of TCEP can result in kidney cancer, in addition to serious harm to the kidneys, nervous system and an individual’s fertility.

Populations that are especially susceptible to TCEP exposure include workers, pregnant women, breastfeeding infants, children, those living near facilities that emit the chemical, as well as people and native tribes whose diets include large amounts of fish.

The EPA has been investigating the chemical for a number of years, releasing a draft risk evaluation in December 2023, which found that TCEP flame retardants pose unreasonable risks to human health and the environment. This evaluation was opened for community comments and peer review for 60 days following its publication, the results of which the EPA took into account in the final risk evaluation, published earlier this month.

The draft evaluation was preceded earlier in 2023 with a proposed Significant New Use Rule, ensuring no one could continue using TCEP without a final EPA analysis. This followed nearly four years of investigations by the agency, after TCEP was first designated as a high-priority substance for risk evaluation in December 2019.

Flame Retardant Chemicals Bring Serious Health Risks

In addition to the regulations the EPA plans to propose for TCEP, other flame retardant “forever chemicals” are in the midst of being analyzed for the risks they present to humans and the environment as well, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are used in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) by firefighters.

The use of these chemicals has led to numerous AFFF lawsuits, filed against the chemicals’ manufacturers on behalf of firefighters and other individuals who have been harmed by these chemicals accumulating in people’s bodies through drinking water and the environment, leading to numerous complications, including testicular cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer and ulcerative colitis.

Other recent lawsuits have noted the presence of PFAS chemicals in everyday items such as carpets and rugs, which makes them especially dangerous to children, since children are often crawling on the floor and inhaling these chemicals as dust particles that flake off the fabric.

Studies have also shown that toxic flame retardant chemicals are accumulating in breast milk, which is extremely disconcerting due to additional reports that exposure to flame retardant chemicals could be a major contributor to intellectual disabilities in children.

Those who wish to stay informed about the EPA’s updated regulations concerning TCEP, can sign up for email alerts, or check the public docket at www.regulations.gov.