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Chapter 10: Acids and alkalis · Part 1: Alkalis

Monoethanolamine

  • Made from a hazardous chemical
  • Contaminant risk
Also called
MEA, ethanolamine
Found in
laundry liquid, multipurpose and degreasing cleaners

The worst fact: it isn't officially classed as a skin allergen, but 3.8% of 9,602 patients patch-tested at German-speaking skin clinics, mostly because an allergy was suspected (often metalworkers), reacted to it. A cleaner developed work-related asthma from a detergent containing it, and the symptoms lasted after the exposure stopped.

Why brands use it: it's an alkali that helps surfactants work and stops metal corroding.

Take care if: you have eczema or asthma. Australia's Poisons Standard lists it above 5% (Schedule 6 above 20%); the household cleaners we checked were below that.

Comes from: ethylene oxide reacted with ammonia. Australia classes ethylene oxide as "May cause cancer". That doesn't mean it's in the product, but it's not a great starting point for something you clean with.

Myth check: nil.

Contaminants: nitrosamines. MEA can form these "possibly carcinogenic" chemicals if it meets nitrosating agents. In EU cosmetics, nitrosamines must stay under 50 micrograms per kilogram. They're unlikely in a well-made product, but it's a factor you can't see on the label.

Fair to say: in a Swiss pilot study, nearly all professional cleaners' air levels were under a tenth of workplace limits. There's no reliable cancer data, but Australia's regulator doesn't expect it to cause cancer.

Correct as of November 2026. What the badges mean

Sources

  • Australian Government. Poisons Standard October 2026 (SUSMP), F2026L01327: sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, alkaline salts, monoethanolamine, sulfamic acid, hydrochloric acid, acetic acid; Appendix B (sodium bicarbonate).
  • Safe Work Australia. Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS): classifications for each chemical, and for ethylene oxide, carbon monoxide and acetaldehyde.
  • AICIS / NICNAS. IMAP assessments: soluble silicates; ethanolamine (2013); hydrochloric acid (Tier II 2014, Tier III 2018); acetic acid (2013).
  • HSDB (US National Library of Medicine), via PubChem: production and impurity data for each chemical.
  • Lessmann H et al. Skin sensitizing properties of the ethanolamines. Contact Dermatitis 2009.
  • Savonius B et al. Occupational asthma caused by ethanolamines. Allergy 1994.

The full source list is at the end of Chapter 10.