The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is providing this notice to make California communities aware of new information regarding air toxic contaminants.

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) released documents about two toxic air contaminants – ethylene oxide and acrolein. The documents summarize the cancer-related health risk for each pollutant and include an estimated draft cancer risk. The draft inhalation unit risk factors (IURs) documents are available on OEHHA’s webpage for a 45-day public review period that will end on June 29, 2026.

Additionally, CARB is preparing Frequently Asked Questions and Fact Sheets about ethylene oxide and acrolein impacts on air quality statewide. These materials will be available on CARB’s Emerging Air Toxics of Concern webpage. Spanish materials will be made available soon on the CARB’s Emerging Air Toxics of Concern Spanish webpage. To receive information and updates on Air Toxics programs at CARB, please subscribe here.

Upcoming OEHHA Public Workshops on Draft Health Guidance Values for Ethylene Oxide and Acrolein

OEHHA will host public workshops to present on the draft health guidance values and the process for finalizing those values, where the public will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide public comment. At the public workshops, CARB will present on the process and information needed to better understand and develop risk reduction strategies for ethylene oxide and acrolein. For updates and additional information on the workshops, please visit OEHHA’s webpage.

Public Workshop Details

Northern California (Hybrid)

• Date:                June 2, 2026
• Time:                4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
• Location:          Sierra Hearing Room, CalEPA Building, 1001 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 

                         Zoom Webinar Link

Southern California (In-Person)

• Date:                June 4, 2026
• Time:                10:00 am – 1:00 pm
• Location:          Auditorium, Ronald Reagan State Building, 300 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Central California

Details for a workshop in Central California will be announced at a later date on OEHHA’s website.

OEHHA’s Air Toxics Hot Spots

Background

OEHHA is required to develop guidelines for conducting health risk assessments under the Air Toxics Hot Spots Program (Health and Safety Code Section 44360(b)(2)). In response to this requirement, OEHHA develops inhalation unit risk factors (IURs) for carcinogens, which are used to estimate lifetime cancer risks associated with inhalation exposure to a carcinogen. OEHHA has released draft documents for public review that summarize the carcinogenicity data and derive cancer IURs for ethyl oxide and acrolein.

After the close of the public comment period, the draft documents may be revised as appropriate by OEHHA and will be peer reviewed by the state’s Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants. Information about dates and agenda for meetings of the Scientific Review Panel can be obtained from the CARB website at https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/scientific-review-panel-toxic-air-contaminants.

CARB is the state agency charged with improving air quality in California. CARB and air districts, in partnership with OEHHA, for the past 40 years have implemented regulations to identify and reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants. Once the draft cancer factors are finalized and pollutants are sufficiently understood, CARB and/or local air districts implement programs to reduce risk, such as the adoption and enforcement of air toxic control measures.

OEHHA’s webpage

Contact

For updates and additional information, please visit OEHHA’s webpage.

If you require a special accommodation or need this document in an alternate format (i.e., Braille, large print) or another language, please contact toxics-inventory@arb.ca.gov or call (279) 208-7957 as soon as possible. TTY/TDD/Speech to Speech users may dial 711 for the California Relay Service.

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