PAN Pesticides Database - Chemicals
Home > Chemical Search
Help | Feedback  

Citric acid - Identification, toxicity, use, water pollution potential, ecological toxicity and regulatory information

Note: See Working with the Information on this Page section below for important notes about this data.

This website and underlying databases are maintained and updated by Pesticide Action Network North America (PAN). The project is made possible by our Sponsors and by PAN general funds. We need your support to maintain and improve this system. Please support the database and website — donate to PANNA.

Chemical ID
 Identifying information, including synonyms, ID numbers, use type, chemical classification, a link to a list of all products containing this chemical and a list of the top crops this pesticide is used on in California.
Poisoning Symptoms
 Signs and symptoms of poisoning, first aid, and links to treatment information for this chemical.
Toxicity
 Link to information on toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity.
Regulatory
 Links to world-wide registration status as well as regulatory information for the U.S. and California.
Water
 Water quality standards and physical properties affecting water contamination potential.
Ecotoxicity
 Toxicity to aquatic organisms.
Related Chems
 List of chemicals in the same family, including breakdown products, salts, esters, isomers, and other derivatives.
 

Chemical Identification and Use for Citric acid
Basic Identification Information About This Chemical
Chemical Name: Citric acid
CAS Number: 77-92-9
U.S. EPA PC Code: 021801
021801
CA DPR Chem Code: 142
Molecular Weight: 192.14
Use Type: Fungicide , Microbiocide , pH Adjustment
Chem Class: Botanical
View Related Chemicals
 
Additional Resources About This Chemical Class and Use Type
Historical Use of this Chemical
Top five crops and sites for this pesticide in California
Almonds   Strawberries   Pistachios   Alfalfa for Forage   Wine Grapes  
View All Crops and Sites
 
Other Names for this Chemical
About Chemical Synonyms
00142 (CA DPR Chem Code Text ) , 021801 [US EPA PC Code, Text ] , 142 (CA DPR Chem Code) ) , 2-Hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid , 21801 [US EPA PC Code, Numeric ] , 77-92-9 (CAS number) , 77929 , 77929 (CAS number without hyphens) , acide citrique , beta-Hydroxytricarballylic acid , Citric acid , Citric Acid Anhydrous , Citricacid
 
Products Containing This Chemical
Current and historic U.S. registered products
View U.S. Products All Products Currently Registered Products
 

Signs and Symptoms of Citric acid Poisoning

NOTE! There may be other diseases and chemicals that have similar symptoms.

If you have a poisoning emergency in the United States call 1-800-222-1222.
If the victim has collapsed or is unconscious, call 911.

Symptoms of Citric acid Exposure from the International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC)

Report a Poisoning
View full ICSC Cards: English   Español   Française   Chinese   Dutch   Finnish   German   Hungarian   Japanese   Swahili   Thai   Urdu  
NOTE! PREVENT DISPERSION OF DUST!

Route of Exposure

Symptoms

First Aid
Inhalation Cough. Shortness of breath. Sore throat. Fresh air rest. Refer for medical attention.
Skin Redness. Rinse skin with plenty of water or shower. Refer for medical attention.
Eyes Redness. Pain. First rinse with plenty of water for several minutes (remove contact lenses if easily possible) then take to a doctor.
Ingestion Abdominal pain. Sore throat. Rinse mouth. Refer for medical attention.
Notes for ICSC Information
 

Toxicity Information for Citric acid

  Note: Information for many chemicals is incomplete and may not be fully representative of effects on humans. Why?

Summary Toxicity Information

PAN Bad Actor
Chemical 1 		Acute
Toxicity 2 		Carcinogen Cholinesterase
Inhibitor 		Ground
Water Contaminant 		Developmental or
Reproductive Toxin 		Endocrine
Disruptor
Not Listed
No
 
Indicates high toxicity in the given toxicological category. Indicates no available weight-of-the-evidence summary assessment. For additional information on toxicity from scientific journals or registration documents, see the "Additional Resources for Toxicity " section of the chemical detail page.
1. PAN Bad Actors are chemicals that are one or more of the following: highly acutely toxic, cholinesterase inhibitor, known/probable carcinogen, known groundwater pollutant or known reproductive or developmental toxicant. NOTE! Because there are no authoritative lists of Endocrine Disrupting (ED) chemicals, EDs are not yet considered PAN Bad Actor chemicals.
2. The acute toxicity reported on this page is of the pure chemical ingredient only and may not reflect the acute toxicity of individual pesticide products. To view acute toxicity of individual products, click on 'View Products' link in the 'Chemical Identification' section above.

Detailed Toxicity Information
Acute Toxicity 2
 Citric acid
WHO Acute Hazard
TRI Acute Hazard
Material Safety Data Sheets
Acute rating from U.S. EPA product label
U.S. NTP Acute Toxicity Studies
      View Studies
Cholinesterase Inhibitor		 Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Available
No Consensus Value
No NTP Studies

No
2. The acute toxicity reported on this page is of the pure chemical ingredient only and may not reflect the acute toxicity of individual pesticide products. To view acute toxicity of individual products, click on 'View Products' link in the 'Chemical Identification' section above.
 
Cancer Information
 Citric acid
IARC Carcinogens
U.S. NTP Carcinogens
California Prop 65 Known Carcinogens
U.S. EPA Carcinogens
TRI Carcinogen		 Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
No data available
Not Listed
 
Endocrine Disruption
 Citric acid
Illinois EPA list
Keith list
Colborn list
Benbrook list
Danish Inert list
EU list		 Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
 
Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity
 Citric acid
CA Prop 65 Developmental Toxin
U.S. TRI Developmental Toxin
CA Prop 65 Female Reproductive Toxin
CA Prop 65 Male Reproductive Toxin
U.S. TRI Reproductive Toxin 		Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
 
Chemicals of Special Concern
 Citric acid
PAN Bad Actors
PAN Dirty Dozen list		 Not Listed
Not Listed
 

Water Pollution Potential and Criteria for Citric acid

Water Pollution Potential

PAN Ground Water Contaminant Rating Insufficient Data
 
Physical Property Data Related to Water Contamination Potential
Water Solubility (Avg, mg/L)
Adsorption Coefficient (Koc)
Hydrolysis Half-life (Avg, Days)
Aerobic Soil Half-life (Avg, Days)
Anaerobic Soil Half-life (Avg, Days) 		1,330,000
-
-
20.0
- 		 
 

Sorry, no water quality standards or criteria have been established for this chemical by the U.S. or Canadian governments; however, there may be criteria established for related chemicals.
 

Regulatory Information for Citric acid

International Regulatory Status
 
UNEP Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP)
UNEP Prior Informed Consent Chemical (PIC)
WHO Obsolete Pesticide		 Not Listed
Not Listed
Not Listed
 

U.S. and California Regulatory Status
U.S. EPA Registered
U.S. EPA Hazardous Air Pollutant
U.S. EPA Minimum Risk Pesticide (25b list)

CA Registered
CA Groundwater Contaminant
CA Toxic Air Contaminant 		Yes
Not Listed
No

Yes
Not Listed
Not Listed
 

Maximum Tolerance and Residue Levels
Codex Alimentarius
   (UN FAO Maximum Residue Limits)
U.S. Maximum Tolerance Levels
European Union Maximum Residue Levels 		Go to web site

Go to web site
Go to web site
 

Ecotoxicity for Citric acid

Note! Information for many chemicals is incomplete and may not be fully representative of effects on the environment. Why? Click on underlined terms for definitions and additional information.

Aquatic Ecotoxicity
All Toxic Effects for Organism Group
Organism Group Effects Noted
Crustaceans Mortality
Fish Accumulation, Biochemistry, Feeding Behavior, Mortality
MarineBenthicCommunity Reproduction
Molluscs Behavior, Mortality
Phytoplankton Population
Zooplankton Behavior, Intoxication, Mortality, Population
View All Aquatic Ecotoxicity Studies and References
 
Summary of Acute Toxicity for Organism Group
Organism Group Average Acute Toxicity Acute Toxicity Range
Crustaceans Not Acutely Toxic Not Acutely Toxic
Fish Not Acutely Toxic Not Acutely Toxic
View All Acute Summaries
 

Terrestrial Ecotoxicity
Summary of Acute Toxicity for Organism Group

Sorry, no honeybee acute toxicity data available for this chemical. Try related chemicals.

Note: Population-level effects on honeybees may occur even if a pesticide has low acute toxicity. For example, certain pesticides interfere with honeybee reproduction, ability to navigate, or temperature regulation, any of which can have an effect on long-term survival of honeybee colonies. The neonicotinoids, pyrethroids and keto-enol pesticides are some types of pesticides causing one or more of these effects.
Honeybee Chronic Toxicity
Organism Group Chronic Toxicity  
Honeybees  

Related Chemicals for Citric acid
CAS Number Relation Reason Chemical Name Chem Detail Symptoms California Use Chem Use Type U.S. EPA Reg PAN Bad Actor
77-92-9 Parent P Citric acid View View View pH Adjustment, Fungicide, Microbiocide Yes Not Listed
919-16-4 Related P 1,2,3-propane tricarboxylic acid, 2-hydroxy, trilithium salt, none View View View Drug No Yes
5949-29-1 Related P 2-Hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid, Monohydrate View View View No Not Listed
68-04-2 Related P 2-Hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid,Trisodium salt View View View No Not Listed
813-94-5 Related 1 Calcium citrate View View View pH Adjustment No Not Listed
77-90-7 Related P Citric acid, 2-(acetyloxy)-, tributyl ester View View View No Not Listed
7632-50-0, 3012-65-5 Related 1 Citric acid, ammonium salt View View View pH Adjustment, Fungicide, Microbiocide No Not Listed
7693-13-2 Related 13 Citric acid, calcium salt (2:3) View View View No Not Listed
3609-96-9 Related 1 Citric acid, dipotassium salt View View View No Not Listed
144-33-2 Related 1 Citric acid, disodium salt View View View No Not Listed
866-83-1 Related 1 Citric acid, monopotassium salt View View View No Not Listed
7778-49-6 Related 1 Citric acid, potassium salt View View View Yes Not Listed
77-93-0 Related 1 Citric acid, triethyl ester View View View No Not Listed
866-84-2 Related 1 Citric acid, tripotassium salt View View View No Not Listed
61000-05-6 Related 1 Citric acid, tripotassium salt, monohydrate View View View No Not Listed
6132-04-3 Related 1 Citric acid, trisodium salt, dihydrate View View View No Not Listed
6858-44-2 Related 1 Citric acid, trisodium salt, pentahydrate View View View No Not Listed
18996-35-5, 994-36-5 Related 1 Sodium citrate View View View pH Adjustment No Not Listed
 
Working with the Information on this Page

Click on underlined terms for definitions or go to the Pesticide Tutorial overview page.

Any underlined term with a book icon has additional information.

* Data marked with an asterisk indicates that this chemical is not explicitly listed on the corresponding list. Instead, it belongs to a group of chemicals that IS designated on the list. For example, if an agency assigns a classification of reproductive toxicant to "mercury compounds", that classification is applied to all mercury compounds in the PAN Pesticide database, which are then marked with an asterisk.

To print this page, choose Print. To export this data, choose Save As 'HTML Source' and open it in Excel or equivalent program.

 
 
Citation: Pesticide Action Network, North America, PAN Pesticide Database, (Berkeley, CA, 2019), http:www.pesticideinfo.org. © 2000-2019 Pesticide Action Network, North America. All rights reserved.