US EPA

In February 2023, EPA released the Protocol for the Ethylbenzene IRIS Assessment (Preliminary Assessment Materials) for a 30-day public review and comment period. As part of developing a draft IRIS assessment, EPA presents a protocol that describes the methodology for how the assessment will be conducted, including systematic review and dose-response. These could include strategies for literature searches, criteria for study inclusion or exclusion, considerations for evaluating study methods, information management for extracting data, approaches for synthesis within and across lines of evidence, and methods for derivation of toxicity values.

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.

The IRIS Program will use the protocol to develop the draft assessment.

U.S. EPA. Protocol for the Ethylbenzene IRIS Assessment (Preliminary Assessment Materials). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/635/R-23/014, 2023.