Home Safety / Compounds / HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol)

HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol) in your home: a safety profile

Low risk for your home

Not medical or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician — consult one. Full disclaimer →

(Your Household-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol) poses low risk to adults under normal use conditions.

What is hedta (n-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / versenol)?

The IUPAC name is 2-[2-[bis(carboxymethyl)amino]ethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]acetic acid.

Also known as: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt, N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid, HEDTA, Heedta.

IUPAC name
2-[2-[bis(carboxymethyl)amino]ethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]acetic acid
CAS number
150-39-0
Molecular formula
C10H14N2Na2O8
Molecular weight
336.21 g/mol
SMILES
C(CN(CC(=O)O)CC(=O)O)N(CCO)CC(=O)O
PubChem CID
8773

Risk for your household

Low risk

HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol) poses low risk to adults under normal use conditions.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol). The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EPA—TSCA listed; registered as inert ingredient in pesticides
ECHA—H319 serious eye irritation

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where your home encounter hedta (n-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / versenol)

  • Agricultural — Fe-HEDTA micronutrient fertilizer, lawn care iron supplements
  • Industrial — boiler water treatment, steam generation systems
  • Photography — color negative/positive developer solutions
  • Cleaning — industrial metal surface cleaning

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol):

  • Fe-EDDHA
    Trade-offs: Removes 95-99% of dissolved contaminants including metals, PFAS, nitrates; wastes 2-4 gallons per gallon produced (improving with newer systems); removes beneficial minerals; $0.05-0.25/gallon; requires pre-treatment for longevity.
  • EDTA
    Trade-offs: Removes 95-99% of dissolved contaminants including metals, PFAS, nitrates; wastes 2-4 gallons per gallon produced (improving with newer systems); removes beneficial minerals; $0.05-0.25/gallon; requires pre-treatment for longevity.

Frequently asked questions

What products contain hedta (n-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / versenol)?

HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol) appears in: Fe-HEDTA micronutrient fertilizer (agricultural); lawn care iron supplements (agricultural); boiler water treatment (industrial); steam generation systems (industrial); color negative/positive developer solutions (photography).

See HEDTA (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / Versenol) in the home app

Look up products containing hedta (n-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediaminetriacetic acid / versenol), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in home View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. — expert_curation

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →