Home Safety / Compounds / Diethyl phthalate

Diethyl phthalate in your home: a safety profile

Low risk for your home

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Indoor-air migration from fragranced consumer products; secondary route to dermal application.

What is diethyl phthalate?

The IUPAC name is diethyl benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate.

Also known as: diethyl benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate, Ethyl phthalate, phthalic acid diethyl ester, Anozol.

IUPAC name
diethyl benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate
CAS number
84-66-2
Molecular formula
C12H14O4
Molecular weight
222.24 g/mol
SMILES
CCOC(=O)C1=CC=CC=C1C(=O)OCC
PubChem CID
6781

Risk for your household

Low risk

Indoor-air migration from fragranced consumer products; secondary route to dermal application.

Regulatory consensus

5 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Diethyl phthalate. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
US EPA (IRIS)2009not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity (Group D); oral RfD 0.8 mg/kg/day; not a reproductive/developmental toxicant at environmentally relevant doses
EPA CTX / IRIS—D (Not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity)
EPA CTX / EPA OPP—Group D Not Classifiable as to Human Carcinogenicity
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: negative (Ames: negative, 0 positive / 5 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: negative (Ames: negative, 0 positive / 5 negative reports)

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where your home encounter diethyl phthalate

  • Consumer Products — Plastic bottles and containers, Food packaging, Plastic toys and household items
  • Drinking Water — Leaching from plastic pipes, Migration from bottled water containers
  • Indoor Environments — Off-gassing from plastic furniture, Degradation of plastic products

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Diethyl phthalate:

  • Fragrance-free formulations
    Trade-offs: Consumer preference for scented products
    Relative cost: Lower (ingredient elimination)
  • Essential oil-based fragrances (with disclosure)
    Trade-offs: Natural does not mean safe — many essential oils are skin sensitizers
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional

Frequently asked questions

Is diethyl phthalate safe for your home?

Indoor-air migration from fragranced consumer products; secondary route to dermal application.

What products contain diethyl phthalate?

Diethyl phthalate appears in: Plastic bottles and containers (Consumer products); Food packaging (Consumer products); Leaching from plastic pipes (Drinking water); Migration from bottled water containers (Drinking water); Off-gassing from plastic furniture (Indoor environments).

Why do regulators disagree about diethyl phthalate?

Diethyl phthalate has been classified by 5 agencies including US EPA (IRIS), EPA CTX / IRIS, EPA CTX / EPA OPP, EPA CTX / Genetox, EPA CTX / Genetox, with differing conclusions. Regulators apply different standards of evidence (animal data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds), which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Diethyl phthalate in the home app

Look up products containing diethyl phthalate, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in home View raw API data

Sources (2)
  1. US EPA IRIS Diethyl Phthalate: Group D Not Classifiable; Oral RfD 0.8 mg/kg/day; Not Antiandrogenic; FDA Cosmetic Safety; EU Cosmetics No Restriction; EFSA Cumulative TDI Exclusion (2009) — regulatory
  2. FDA Cosmetic Ingredient Safety Diethyl Phthalate DEP: No Restriction; NHANES Urinary MEP Biomonitoring; Low Reproductive Toxicity Concern vs DEHP DBP; Not in EU Annex XVII Restrictions (2020) — regulatory

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →