Environmental Protection Agency: Ban on the use of sodium ethylenediamine diphenylacetate EDDHA-Na

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**A statement issued by the environmental protection authorities in 2015 stated that during the production of EDDHA-Na, large amounts of urea phosphates are used, which results in excessively high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the final product. As a result, EDDHA-Na was included in the list of \"materials containing phosphorus whose import is restricted,\" and its import and use require approval from relevant authorities. Chinese environmental protection organizations have requested Shanghai Xihé Chemical, the supplier of EDDHA-Na, to provide reports on the production process of EDDHA-Na as well as the phosphorus and nitrogen content levels in the finished product. The data in these reports show that the use of EDDHA-Na leads to phosphorus and nitrogen levels in wastewater that far exceed the **established standards for water pollutant emissions; as a result, EDDHA-Na is facing a ban on use in China. **Environmental organizations state that organophosphates are recognized as environmental hormones, as they can cause abnormal reproduction and growth in various aquatic organisms and plants in natural water bodies, thereby significantly accelerating eutrophication of those waters. At the beginning of 2015, Chinese environmental protection organizations listed EDDHA-Na in their document on \"Phosphorus-containing substances subject to import restrictions\" as a substance that can severely cause eutrophication of water bodies, and prohibited the import of chemicals of this structural type. In recent years, the treatment of organic phosphorus wastewater has become a challenge in the field of water treatment both domestically and internationally. This type of wastewater contains large amounts of organic phosphorus and organic nitrogen intermediates as well as their hydrolysis products, making its treatment difficult and costly. To control the pollution caused by organic phosphorus wastewater, the first step is to reduce the use of organic phosphorus-based chemical raw materials at the source. At the same time, efforts should be intensified in the development of phosphate-free or low-phosphate alternatives, such as epoxy succinic acid compounds like PESA, macromolecular polycarboxylic acid compounds like PBTCA, and linear amide-based compounds like PASP.