EPA's draft TBBPA risk evaluation contradicted its own prior finding that the carcinogen is used in children's clothing

On June 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its draft risk evaluation for TBBPA, a flame retardant used in electronics, textiles, children's clothing, furniture, and building materials, as part of its review under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The draft found unreasonable risk to workers from inhalation exposure and to the environment from surface-water releases, but concluded there was no unreasonable risk to consumers or the general population and that no restrictions on TBBPA's use in consumer products were needed — despite international cancer agencies and European regulators having found TBBPA is, or is probably, carcinogenic.

In reaching that conclusion, the draft accepted an unsupported claim from the American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group, that TBBPA is no longer widely used in fabrics and textiles including children's clothing. Earthjustice noted in its public comment that the claim is contradicted by a separate EPA finding that TBBPA is used in 96 types of children's clothing, and by Washington state records showing continued use in products such as pajamas and strollers. The draft also relied heavily on a 2015 industry-funded study from Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (Tera) and a 30-day industry study that EPA itself acknowledged was not long enough to accurately measure exposure.

Tera's founder, Michael Dourson, was newly appointed to EPA's Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals, the body that reviews the agency's chemical-safety science — placing him in a position to review a risk evaluation that relies on his own firm's research. Former EPA scientist Maria Doa, now with the Environmental Defense Fund, said the agency's political leadership "changed the science to get the outcome they want." EPA did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations.

Updates

2026-08-18 — 14-state coalition of attorneys general opposed EPA's draft risk evaluation [3]

A coalition of 14 state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, along with Washington, D.C. and New York City, filed public comments opposing EPA's draft TBBPA risk evaluation, calling it "deficient" for failing to account for consumer-product exposure, aggregate exposure across populations, and existing state protections such as California's 2018 restrictions on TBBPA.