Health Indicator Report of Drinking Water: DEHP (Di [2-Ethylhexyl] phthalate)

People drink and use water every day. The majority of Americans are provided with high quality drinking water. About 90% of people in the U.S. get their water from a community water system versus a smaller water supply, such as a household well. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets regulations for treating and monitoring drinking water delivered by community water systems. Currently, there are water quality standards and monitoring requirements for over 90 contaminants. Drinking water protection programs play a critical role in ensuring high quality drinking water and protecting the public's health. Because people drink and use water every day, contaminants in drinking water have the potential to affect many people. The number of people served by a community water system varies from as low as 25 to hundreds of thousands. Community water systems in the U.S. provide among the highest quality drinking water in the world. However, some contaminants are present at low levels and it is still possible that drinking water can become contaminated at higher levels. If a person is exposed to a high enough level of a contaminant, they may become ill. Most of what we know about the health effects of DEHP (Di [2-Ethylhexyl] phthalate) comes from studies of rats and mice given high amounts of DEHP. Brief oral exposure to very high levels of DEHP damaged sperm in mice. Although the effect reversed when exposure ceased, sexual maturity was still delayed in the animals. High amounts of DEHP damaged the liver of rats and mice. Whether or not DEHP contributes to human kidney damage is unclear. (Nationally Consistent Data and Measures [NCDM] version 3). DEHP is the most commonly used group of related chemicals called phthalates or phthalic acid esters. Some people who drink water containing DEHP well in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for many years may have problems with their liver, experience reproductive difficulties, or have an increased risk of getting cancer (U.S. EPA, 2010). (Modified from the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network [NEPHTN] Nationally Consistent Data and Measures [NCDM] DEHP indicator document, version 4) The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that DEHP may reasonably be anticipated to be a human carcinogen. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that DEHP is a probable human carcinogen. These determinations were based entirely on liver cancer in rats and mice. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has stated that DEHP cannot be classified as to its carcinogenicity to humans. (From the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network [NEPHTN] Nationally Consistent Data and Measures [NCDM] DEHP indicator document, version 4)