Outdoor & Yard / Compounds / Polyethoxylated tallow amine

Polyethoxylated tallow amine in the yard and garden

Low risk for your yard

Occupational risk assessment indicates margins of exposure are adequate for typical agricultural use. Concentrated forms are irritating to skin and corrosive to eyes.

What is polyethoxylated tallow amine?

Also known as: PEG-10 Hydrogenated tallow amine.

CAS number
61791-26-2

Risk for people, pets,

Low risk

Occupational risk assessment indicates margins of exposure are adequate for typical agricultural use. Concentrated forms are irritating to skin and corrosive to eyes.

Regulatory consensus

7 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Polyethoxylated tallow amine. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
US EPAList 3 - Inert Ingredients of Pesticides
EUBANNED in glyphosate formulations
EFSAStatement on POE-tallowamine toxicological evaluation
EPA CTX / Skin-EyeEye Irritation: Serious eye damage/eye irritation - Category 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-EyeSkin Irritation: Skin corrosion/irritation - Category 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-EyeEye Irritation: Category 8.3A (Category 1) (score: very high)
EPA CTX / Skin-EyeSkin Irritation: Category 6.3A (Category 2) (score: high)

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 yard encounter polyethoxylated tallow amine

  • Agricultural ProductsHerbicide formulations, Pesticide emulsifiers, Crop protection sprays
    Primary use as surfactant in agricultural chemicals; occupational exposure during application and handling
  • Industrial SettingsChemical manufacturing facilities, Formulation plants, Agricultural chemical warehouses
    Occupational exposure to concentrated forms; skin irritation and eye corrosivity hazards present during handling
  • Cleaning And Degreasing ProductsIndustrial degreasers, Heavy-duty cleaners, Equipment cleaning solutions
    Used as emulsifying agent; concentrated forms pose skin and eye irritation risks
  • Environmental/AquaticSurface water near agricultural areas, Runoff from treated fields, Soil in agricultural regions
    Environmental presence resulting from agricultural application of products containing this surfactant
  • Consumer Productsshampoo, body wash, hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Polyethoxylated tallow amine:

  • Phosphate-free corrosion inhibitors (molybdate, silicate)
    Trade-offs: Higher cost. May be less effective in some aggressive environments.
    Relative cost: Lower (ingredient elimination)
  • Surfactant-free glyphosate formulations
    Relative cost: Lower (ingredient elimination)
  • Etheramine-free adjuvants
    Relative cost: Lower (ingredient elimination)

Frequently asked questions

Is polyethoxylated tallow amine safe for your yard?

Occupational risk assessment indicates margins of exposure are adequate for typical agricultural use. Concentrated forms are irritating to skin and corrosive to eyes.

What products contain polyethoxylated tallow amine?

Polyethoxylated tallow amine appears in: Herbicide formulations (Agricultural products); Pesticide emulsifiers (Agricultural products); Chemical manufacturing facilities (Industrial settings); Formulation plants (Industrial settings); Industrial degreasers (Cleaning and degreasing products).

Why do regulators disagree about polyethoxylated tallow amine?

Polyethoxylated tallow amine has been classified by 7 agencies including US EPA, EU, EFSA, EPA CTX / Skin-Eye, EPA CTX / Skin-Eye, with differing conclusions. 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. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Polyethoxylated tallow amine in the outdoor app

Look up products containing polyethoxylated tallow amine, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in outdoor View raw API data

Sources (8)

  1. — journal
  2. — journal
  3. — journal
  4. — regulatory
  5. — regulatory
  6. — journal
  7. — journal
  8. — regulatory

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