US EPA

In September 2017, EPA released the draft IRIS Assessment Plan (IAP) for Ethylbenzene for public review and comment. An IRIS Assessment Plan (IAP) communicates to the public the plan for assessing each individual chemical and includes summary information on the IRIS Program’s scoping and initial problem formulation; objectives and specific aims for the assessment; the PECO (Populations, Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes) criteria that outlines the evidence considered most pertinent to the assessment; and identification of key areas of scientific complexity. The PECO provides the framework for developing literature search strategies and inclusion/exclusion criteria, particularly with respect to evidence stream (i.e., human, animal, mechanistic), exposure measures and outcome measures.

Ethylbenzene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet, gasoline-like odor. It is naturally found in products such as coal tar and crude petroleum. Ethylbenzene is primarily used as a chemical intermediate to produce styrene. In smaller quantities, ethylbenzene is also used as a solvent in common products like rubber, inks, insecticides, paints, and in fuels.

This document presents a draft assessment plan for ethylbenzene that will be the subject of an SAB/Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee meeting in September 2017 and that will define the scope and approach of the IRIS assessment for ethylbenzene.

U.S. EPA. IRIS Assessment Plan for Ethylbenzene (Scoping and Problem Formulation Materials). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/635/R-17/332, 2017.