Alkanolamines and Fatty Alkanolamides Group - information sheet
Publications summarized:
On this page
Overview
- The Government of Canada conducts risk assessments of substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) to determine whether they present or may present a risk to human health or to the environment.
- The risks posed by a substance are determined by both its hazardous properties (potential to cause adverse human health or ecological effects) and the amount or extent to which people or the environment are exposed.
- When needed, the Government applies risk management instruments under CEPA and other federal acts to help prevent or reduce potential harm.
- The ecological hazard and exposure potentials of the 11 substances in the Alkanolamines and Fatty Alkanolamides Group were classified using the Ecological Risk Classification of Organic Substances (ERC) Approach.
- The Government concluded that these substances are not harmful to human health or to the environment at levels of exposure considered in the assessment. Four of the substances are associated with human health effects of concern; however, their risk to human health is low at levels of exposure considered in the assessment.
About these substances
- The assessment focused on 11 substances, referred to collectively as the Alkanolamines and Fatty Alkanolamides Group under the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP). These substances are MEA, DEEA, LME, DEA, LDE, CDE, CADEA, TADEA, TEA, TIPA, and BATEA.
- Details on the substance names and CAS RNs are found in the summary of publications section of the Alkanolamines and Fatty Alkanolamides Group web page.
- Three of the 11 substances (LME, LDE and CDE) were moved from the Fatty Amides Group to this group, as they potentially contain residual alkanolamines.
- None of the substances occur naturally except for MEA which is naturally present in certain foods.
- According to information gathered by the Government, these substances may be used in a range of industrial and consumer processes. Uses of BATEA were not identified for the general population in Canada. Some of the other substances in this group may be used in food packaging materials, cosmetics, natural health products, non-prescription drugs, household cleaners, and other products available to consumers.
Human and ecological exposures
- Exposure of people in Canada to BATEA is expected to be minimal, based on its expected limited use in Canada and since it was not identified in products available to consumers.
- People in Canada may be exposed to the other substances in the Alkanolamines and Alkanolamides Group from environmental sources (for example, air and drinking water), food, food packaging materials, or the use of products available to consumers, such as floor polish/wax, all-purpose cleaning sprays, wall paint, dishwashing liquid, body soap, and shampoo.
- According to information considered under the ERC Approach, these substances were identified as having low ecological exposure potential.
Key health and ecological effects (hazard)
- To help inform the health effects characterization in the assessment, international reports on these substances were considered, among other sources of information. This included assessments by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), among others.
- IARC has classified DEA and CDE as "possibly carcinogenic to humans".
- There were limited health effects (hazard) data for LME; therefore, a comparative approach using similar chemicals, called read-across, was used for assessing potential health effects.
- The critical health effects identified in the assessment included:
- reproductive effects and effects on the larynx (for MEA)
- effects on the liver and on body weight (for DEEA)
- carcinogenicity (ability to cause cancer) and effects on the kidneys, liver, and blood (for DEA)
- carcinogenicity and effects on the kidney and liver (for LDE and CDE)
- reproductive effects (for CADEA and TADEA)
- carcinogenicity, reproductive effects and effects on the liver (for TEA).
- Based upon available information, no critical health effects have been identified for LME, TIPA, and BATEA.
- According to information considered under the ERC Approach, these substances were identified as having low ecological hazard potential.
Consideration of subpopulations who may have greater susceptibility or greater exposure
- There are groups of individuals within the Canadian population who, due to greater susceptibility or greater exposure, may be more vulnerable to experiencing adverse health effects from exposure to substances.
- Certain subpopulations are routinely considered throughout the assessment process, such as infants, children, and people of reproductive age. For instance, age-specific exposures are routinely estimated and developmental and reproductive toxicity studies are evaluated for potential adverse health effects. These subpopulations were taken into account in the risk assessment outcomes of the Alkanolamines and Fatty Alkanolamides Group.
Risk assessment outcomes
- Assessments focus on information critical to determining whether substances are harmful to human health or the environment under CEPA. This is done by considering scientific information, including information, if available, on subpopulations who may have greater susceptibility or greater exposure, vulnerable environments and cumulative effects and by incorporating a weight of evidence approach and precaution.
- Based upon a comparison of levels to which people in Canada may be exposed to these substances and the levels associated with health effects, the risk to human health from MEA, DEEA, LME, DEA, LDE, CDE, CADEA, TADEA, TEA, and TIPA is considered to be low.
- The risk to human health from BATEA is considered to be low given the information presented in this assessment.
- Based upon the outcome of the ERC Approach, these 11 substances are considered unlikely to be causing ecological harm at levels of exposure considered in the assessment.
Assessment conclusions
- The Government concluded that MEA, DEEA, LME, DEA, LDE, CDE, CADEA, TADEA, TEA, TIPA, and BATEA are not harmful to human health at levels of exposure considered in the assessment, and that these 11 substances are not entering the environment at levels that are harmful.
Preventive actions and risk reduction
- Although DEA, LDE, CDE and TEA are not considered to be harmful to human health or the environment at levels of exposure considered in the assessment, these substances are considered to have a health effect of concern based on their potential carcinogenicity. Therefore, there may be a concern if exposures were to increase.
- For this reason, the Government published a notice of intent to apply Significant New Activity (SNAc) provisions of CEPA to DEA, LDE, CDE and TEA. This publication has a 60-day public comment period ending on August 19, 2026.
- The SNAc provisions would require that the Government be notified of certain proposed new activities related to the substances, and that the new activity be assessed before being undertaken.
- The notice outlines the proposed definition of a significant new activity in relation to DEA, LDE, CDE and TEA, as well as the information that would need to be provided to the Government for assessment before the new activity is undertaken.
- In addition, these substances are being proposed for addition to the List of substances capable of becoming toxic.
- Also, DEA is described on Heath Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist as a prohibited ingredient under the entry, secondary alkyl- and alkanolamines and their salts. The Hotlist is used to communicate that certain substances may not be compliant with requirements of the Food and Drugs Act or the Cosmetic Regulations. Under Canadian legislation, cosmetics that contain substances that are harmful to the user cannot be sold.
- Health Canada has guidance on the safety of cosmetic ingredients advising that CDE and other fatty acid ethanolamines (other than DEA [and cocamide DIPA which is not in this group]) should not be used in combination with nitrosamine-forming agents. This implicates MEA, TEA, and TIPA which are in cosmetics. This also implicates LDE which is in cosmetics; while it is not a fatty acid ethanolamine, it is expected to contain residual DEA.
Where to find updates
- The timeline for the Alkanolamines and Fatty Alkanolamides Group is updated to reflect new or changed activities.
- Information about SNAc provisions applied to substances, including new notices and orders, and those already published, can be found in the SNAc publications dataset.
- Additional information on the List of substances capable of becoming toxic is available.
- Use the Substances Search tool to find substances that are referenced in certain legislative or regulatory instruments or on Government of Canada websites.
Related resources
- Substances in the Alkanolamines and Fatty Alkanolamides Group may be found in products available to consumers. People in Canada should follow any safety warnings and directions related to the product and dispose of products responsibly.
- More information on consumer products and cosmetics is available, including how to report an incident, find product recalls and alerts, and learn about regulatory requirements in Canada.
- Assessments conducted under CEPA focus on risks of exposure of the general population. Hazards related to chemicals used in the workplace are defined within the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS). If a substance is harmful to the general population, it could also be of concern for individuals in situations where a higher volume of the substance is used or where the substance is used for a longer duration (for example, the workplace). The Government of Canada recognises that it is the responsibility of the federal, provincial and territorial occupational health and safety organizations to coordinate legislation for the safe use of chemicals in the workplace. We are working to support this role by integrating the information, tools, and/or technical expertise of the CMP and Health Canada's Workplace Hazardous Products Program.
