Health Care

States phase out cancer-linked chemical in hospital IV equipment

Massachusetts is set to be the latest to target DEHP.
A nurse hooks up an IV to a flu patient at Upson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston, Ga., Feb. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

States are beginning to phase out IV bags and tubing that contain a common chemical linked to breast, liver, lung and testicular cancer. 

Legislation awaiting a signature from Democratic Gov. Maura Healey would make Massachusetts the third state after California and North Carolina to target DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate), a chemical used to soften plastics that can leach into IV fluids. 

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