Toxicological and environmental implications on the use of nitrilotriacetic acid as a detergent builder—II

Abstract

The acute cutaneous and oral toxicity of NTA in rodents and mammals is very low; similarly, NTA does not induce topical toxicity or allergic hypersensitization in man. In chronic feeding studies, NTA produced dose‐related toxic nephrosis in female rats at all levels tested, and dose‐related enhanced mortality in male rats; available data from these studies do not appear to indicate any carcinogenic effects. NTA is non‐mutagenic in the dominant lethal assay in mice, and does not induce in vivo cytogenetic anomalies in rodents. NTA was not teratogenic in rats. No data are available on carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity for any heavy metal NTA chelates. Metabolic studies indicate rapid absorption from the rat stomach; cumulative skeletal uptake was, however, observed following repeated oral administration. Chronic feeding studies on NTA resulted in marked and dose‐related zinc accumulation in rat bone. Under the worst possible conditions, the maximal total adult daily intake of NTA has been ca...