Chapter 4: Bleaches and brighteners · Part 1: Oxygen bleaches
TAED
No badge
The worst fact: in the wash it reacts with the oxygen bleach to make peracetic acid, the corrosive disinfectant above. The US Safer Choice program gives it a yellow triangle: fine to use, but not low concern on every measure.
Why brands use it: it lets oxygen bleach work in a cool wash. Products contain 1.4 to 13%.
Take care if: no official warning found. Accidental contact with skin or eyes, or swallowing it, is rated low concern.
Comes from: ethylenediamine and acetic anhydride (a strong form of vinegar acid).
Myth check: "Oxygen bleach only works in hot water": not with TAED. More than 99% of it reacts even at 23°C.
Contaminants: nil.
Fair to say: it has very low toxicity by every route tested, and German skin clinics saw no TAED allergy in 10 years.
Correct as of November 2026. What the badges mean
Sources
- Safe Work Australia. Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS): classifications for each chemical, and for borax. hcis.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
- HERA. Risk assessments: sodium percarbonate (2002); hydrogen peroxide (2005); sodium perborate (2002); TAED (2003); FWA-1 (2004); FWA-5 (2003). heraproject.com
The full source list is at the end of Chapter 4.