Registration Dossier
Registration Dossier
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EC number: 217-895-0 | CAS number: 2001-94-7
Endpoint summary
Administrative data
Description of key information
EDTA is not acutely toxic to aquatic organisms. Like other salts of EDTA, K2EDTA is expected to dissociate in water, leaving only K2 and EDTA.
Additional information
The toxicity of EDTA on fish highly depends on water hardness, pH and metal speciation [EU Risk Assessment, 2004].
The toxicity of EDTA complexes to bluegill was determined in a key study performed by Batchelder et al. (1980),
which take into account the water hardness and pH. The revealed LC50 -values are in a range of 41 mg/L to 2070 mg/L.
Two consequences can be drawn. First, the tests performed with the acid form lead to very low pH values under test
conditions. A pH of 4 alone leads to toxicity in bluegill. The low LC50 value in very soft water can be explained by a
surplus of uncomplexed EDTA which was present in the test media. This is not expected in the environment; therefore
the results derived by soft water hardness and/or pH <4 are not relevant for the assessment.
Consequently the LC50 of EDTA is estimated to be higher 1000 mg/L, due to the fact that this predicted value
represents the lowest LC50 at acceptable pH which has been performed in natural not synthetic water. The results
indicate that for complexed and non complexed EDTA no need for classification as dangerous for the environment.
Further on, the results show that the toxicity of complexes with the toxic metals Cu and Zn is in the same concentration
range as the uncomplexed EDTA. Chelates with non-toxic metals (Mn, Ca, Mg) are much less toxic.
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