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Issuance of a Safe Use Determination for Exposure to Professional Installers to Diisononyl Phthalate in Vinyl Flooring Products

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is the lead agency for the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986[1].  OEHHA received a request from the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) on behalf of its member companies that OEHHA issue a Safe Use Determination (SUD) for professional flooring installer exposures to diisononyl phthalate (DINP) in vinyl flooring products, pursuant to OEHHA’s authority under Section 25204(a) of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations[2].  The products that are the subject of this request are non-textile vinyl flooring products used in residential, commercial and institutional buildings.  These products are available either as sheets or tiles, and can be installed by both flooring professionals and do-it-yourself consumers.  DINP was listed under Proposition 65 as a chemical known to the state to cause cancer effective December 20, 2013.

In accordance with the process set forth in Section 25204(f), OEHHA held a written public comment period on this request from January 2 to February 25, 2015.  OEHHA also held a public hearing on February 25, 2015, in Sacramento, California.  No public comments were received.

As provided in Sections 25204(a) and (k), OEHHA is issuing the following SUD to RFCI for DINP in certain vinyl flooring products:

  • OEHHA is issuing a safe use determination for DINP exposures to professional vinyl flooring installers from vinyl flooring products containing 8.7% DINP by weight, or less.

The essential elements and results of OEHHA’s assessment are described in the supporting document available at:  /proposition-65/proposition-65-safe-use-determinations-suds.

Based on the screening level exposure analysis described in the supporting documentation, an upper-end estimate of DINP exposure from vinyl flooring products was made for professional vinyl flooring installers and compared to the No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) for DINP of 146 micrograms/day. 

The estimated exposure to DINP from vinyl flooring products corresponds to a calculated excess cancer risk of one in 100,000 for professional installers as a result of installing vinyl flooring products containing 8.7% DINP by weight.  Thus OEHHA determined that exposure of professional installers to DINP is at or below the NSRL when the DINP content in the vinyl flooring product is 8.7% by weight, or less.  A warning would not be required for workers (i.e., professional installers) for products meeting this DINP concentration limit.    

Supporting documentation for this Safe Use Determination is available on OEHHA’s web site.

Questions regarding this notice should be directed to:

Michelle Ramirez
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
P.O. Box 4010, MS-12B
Sacramento, California 95812-4010

P65Public.Comments@oehha.ca.gov

Telephone:  (916) 445-6900

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Footnotes and References

[1]The Safe Drinking Water and Toxics Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as Proposition 65, is codified at Health and Safety Code section 25249.5 et seq.

[2] All further references are to sections of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations unless otherwise stated.