On This Page
- Highlights
- What is acrylamide?
- What happens to acrylamide when it enters the environment?
- How might I be exposed to acrylamide?
- How can acrylamide affect my health?
- How likely is acrylamide to cause cancer?
- How does acrylamide affect children?
- How can families reduce the risk of exposure to acrylamide?
- Is there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to acrylamide?
- Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?
- Reference
- Where can I get more information?
ToxFAQs™ for Acrylamide
CAS#: 79-06-1
This fact sheet answers the most frequently asked health questions (FAQs) about acrylamide. For more information, call theCDC Information Center at 1-800-232-4636. This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances andtheir health effects. It is important you understand this information because this substance may harm you. The effects ofexposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, andwhether other chemicals are present.
Highlights
The general population is exposed to acrylamide by eating contaminated food. Acrylamide affects the nervous system and reproductive system. This chemical has been found in at least 3 of the 1,699 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What is acrylamide?
Acrylamide is a colorless, odorless, crystalline solid that can react violently when melted. When it is heated, sharp fumes may be released.
Acrylamide is used to make polyacrylamide, which is mainly used in treating waste water discharge from water treatment plants and industrial processes.
In addition, acrylamide and polyacrylamides are used inthe production of dyes and organic chemicals, contactlenses, cosmetics and toiletries, permanent-press fabrics,paper and textile production, pulp and paper production,ore processing, sugar refining, and as a chemical groutingagent and soil stabilizer for the construction of tunnels,sewers, wells and reservoirs.
Acrylamide is formed in foods that are rich in carbohydrates when they are fried, grilled, or baked.
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What happens to acrylamide when itenters the environment?
- It may enter drinking water during the water treatment process.
- It is not usually found in air.
- It is broken down quickly by bacteria in soiland water.
- It is removed from soil by hydrolysis.
- It is not expected to bioaccumulate inthe environment.
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How might I be exposed to acrylamide?
- Eating carbohydrate-rich foods that are cooked athigh temperatures.
- Breathing second-hand tobacco smoke.
- Drinking water from wells near plastic or dye plants.
- Working in the production or use of acrylamideand acrylamide containing products (exposure mayoccur through skin contact).
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How can acrylamide affect my health?
The main targets of acrylamide toxicity are the nervoussystem and reproductive system.
Nervous system effects such as muscle weakness,numbness in hands and feet, sweating, unsteadiness, andclumsiness were reported in some acrylamide workers.However, most people are not exposed to acrylamidelevels high enough to cause these effects.
Acrylamide reduces the ability of male animals to produceoffspring and could cause similar effects in humans, butnot likely at exposure levels experienced by most people.
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How likely is acrylamide to cause cancer?
Acrylamide has caused several types of cancer in animals. Adequate human data are not available.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the EPA have concluded that acrylamide is likely to be carcinogenic to humans, based on sufficient evidence of cancer in animals
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How can acrylamide affect children?
Acrylamide is expected to affect children in the samemanner as adults.
Acrylamide can cross the placenta and result inexposure to unborn children. It has also been detectedin breast milk.
In animals exposed to acrylamide during pregnancy,offspring had decreased body weight, decreased startleresponses, and decreased levels of some chemicalsinvolved in transmission of brain signals.
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How can families reduce the risk ofexposure to acrylamide?
- Avoid eating a lot of carbohydrate-rich foods that arecooked at high temperatures (e.g., french fries).
- Avoid overcooking carbohydrate-rich foods.
- Acrylamide is a component of tobacco smoke. Avoid smoking in enclosed spaces like inside the home orcar in order to limit exposure to children and otherfamily members.
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Is there a medical test to determinewhether I’ve been exposed to acrylamide?
Acrylamide and its breakdown products can be measuredin blood and urine. These measurements may be useful inestimating how much acrylamide has entered the body.
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Has the federal government made recommendations to protecthuman health?
The EPA has determined that the exposure to acrylamidein drinking water at concentrations of 1.5 milligrams perliter (1.5 mg/L) for one day or 0.3 milligrams per liter (0.3mg/L) for 10 days is not expected to cause any adverseeffects in a child.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) has set an exposure limit of 0.3 milligrams percubic meter (0.3 mg/m3) for acrylamide in workplace airfor an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek.
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Reference
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2012. Toxicological Profile for Acrylamide. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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Where can I get more information?
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
For more information, contact:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Office of Innovation and Analytics, Toxicology Section
4770 Buford Highway
Chamblee, GA 30341-3717
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO 888-232-6348 (TTY)
Email: Contact CDC-INFO
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
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