A plasticizer used to soften PVC plastics.
In Florida, Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate was reported by 31 community water systems serving about 311,938 people. Every reported reading was at or below the federal legal limit. It was measured by 1,559 systems in all, so it was detected in 2% of the systems that tested for it.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at Jacksonville University in Duval County, at 68% of it.
Where it comes from: Discharge from rubber and chemical factories.
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
California has not published a PHG for this substance.
Health effects the EPA associates with it: Reproductive difficulties; liver problems; increased cancer risk.
Water at or under the legal limit meets federal safety standards. A reading above a health goal is not the same as being unsafe, and health goals are set purely on health without regard to cost or treatability. Both are shown so the margin is visible either way.
Showing the 25 highest of 31 systems that reported Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate.
These figures describe water as delivered by each utility, not what your home’s plumbing adds after it arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.