On August 18, 2026, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft TSCA Section 6 risk evaluation for ethylene dibromide (EDB, CASRN 106-93-4), preliminarily finding unreasonable risk to workers and occupational non-users from inhalation and dermal exposures under 10 of the 12 conditions of use assessed. A 60-day public comment window is open in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0488 on regulations.gov.
EDB is a colorless liquid used primarily as a fuel additive, with 2016 Chemical Data Reporting production (manufacture and import) between 1 million and 20 million lbs/year. EPA designated it a High-Priority Substance in December 2019 and initiated the risk evaluation the same month. The draft does not find unreasonable risk to consumers, the general population, or the environment.
What did EPA conclude about worker and ONU risk?
Using chemical-specific monitoring data, exposure modeling, and systematic review of the health literature, EPA preliminarily identified unreasonable risk to workers from non-cancer and cancer endpoints linked to inhalation and dermal exposure across 10 of 12 conditions of use. Four of those uses also present non-cancer and cancer risk to occupational non-users (ONUs) through inhalation.
The agency published the draft and supporting technical packages on its ethylene dibromide risk evaluation page. EPA emphasizes that the evaluation is draft only: findings may change after comment, and release of the draft does not alter existing protections or risk-management measures already in force for the chemical.
Which conditions of use drive the finding, and which do not?
The draft covers 12 TSCA conditions of use. Ten contribute significantly to unreasonable risk for workers; four of those also drive ONU inhalation risk. The remaining two conditions of use do not drive the unreasonable-risk determination in the draft as written.
| Outcome | Conditions of use | Exposed population |
|---|---|---|
| Unreasonable risk | 10 of 12 COUs | Workers (inhalation and dermal); ONUs on 4 of those COUs (inhalation) |
| No unreasonable risk (draft) | 2 of 12 COUs | Workers for those COUs; consumers; general population; environment |
Because the primary commercial use is as a fuel additive, formulators and facilities handling EDB in fuel-related manufacturing, processing, and industrial use should treat the occupational pathways as the compliance priority, not consumer or environmental exposure scenarios.
Who must act, and by when?
EHS and TSCA compliance leads at US manufacturers, importers, fuel-additive formulators, and industrial users of ethylene dibromide are the audience that must act now. The immediate obligation is procedural: file comments and exposure-control evidence in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0488 within the 60-day window that opened with the August 18, 2026 release.
Companies should not treat the draft as a closed scientific document. Real-world monitoring data, PPE and engineering-control performance, and condition-of-use descriptions placed on the record during comment are what can still reshape the final evaluation before EPA moves to binding Section 6 risk management.
What comes after the comment period?
EPA states it will move quickly to finalize the risk evaluation after public comment. If the agency continues to find unreasonable risk, it will then propose risk-management actions under TSCA Section 6 to address unsafe workplace exposures. Those actions can include use restrictions, workplace exposure limits, and mandated engineering controls or PPE.
This EDB draft sits in the same existing-chemicals pipeline as other High-Priority Section 6 evaluations, while EPA continues work on the broader risk-evaluation framework amendments (RIN 2070-AL27). Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring of the TSCA docket surfaces a draft like this the day it publishes, before any binding obligation attaches.
Take advantage of this real-time watch
Next steps. Confirm whether your operations manufacture, import, formulate, or use ethylene dibromide under any of the 10 flagged conditions of use; map inhalation and dermal exposure controls against the draft's occupational findings; and file comments or monitoring data in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2018-0488 before the 60-day window closes.
