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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

ACRYLONITRILE 

CAS#: 107-13-1 

Division of Toxicology December 1990 

This Public Health Statement is the summary 

chapter from the Toxicological Profile for 

Acrylonitrile. It is one in a series of Public Health 

Statements about hazardous substances and their 

health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQsTM is 

also available. This information is important 

because this substance may harm you. The effects 

of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on 

the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, 

personal traits and habits, and whether other 

chemicals are present. For more information, call 

the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737. 

This Statement was prepared to give you 

information about acrylonitrile and to emphasize the 

human health effects that may result from exposure 

to it The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

has identified 1,177 sites on its National Priorities 

List (NPL). Acrylonitrile has been found at 3 of 

these sites. However, we do not know how many of 

the 1,177 NPL sites have been evaluated for 

acrylonitrile. As EPA evaluates more sites, the 

number of sites at which acrylonitrile is found may 

change. The information is important for you to 

know because acrylonitrile may cause harmful 

health effects and because these sites are potential 

or actual sources of human exposure to 

acrylonitrile. 

When a chemical is released from a large area, such 

as an industrial plant, or from a container, such as a 

drum or bottle, it enters the environment as a 

chemical emission. This emission, which is also 

called a release, does not always lead to exposure. 

You can be exposed to a chemical only when you 

come into contact with the chemical. You may be 

exposed to it in the environment by breathing, 

eating, or drinking substances containing the 

chemical or from skin contact with it. 

If you are exposed to a hazardous substance such as 

acrylonitrile, several factors will determine whether 

harmful health effects will occur and what the type 

and severity of those health effects will be. These 

factors include the dose (how much), the duration 

(how long), the route or pathway by which you are 

exposed (breathing, eating, drinking, or skin 

contact), the other chemicals to which you are 

exposed, and your individual characteristics such as 

age, sex, nutritional status, family traits, life style, 

and state of health. 

1.1 WHAT IS ACRYLONITRILE? 

Acrylonitrile is a colorless, liquid, man-made 

chemical with a sharp, onion or garlic-like odor. 

Acrylonitrile is used mostly to make plastics, 

acrylic fibers, and synthetic rubber. Because 

acrylonitrile evaporates quickly, it is most likely to 

be found in the air around chemical plants where it 

is made. Acrylonitrile breaks down quickly in the 

air. It has been found in small amounts in the water 

and soil near manufacturing plants and hazardous 

waste sites. In water, acrylonitrile usually breaks 

down in about 1 to 2 weeks, although this can vary 

depending on conditions. For example, high 

concentrations of acrylonitrile (such as might occur 

after a spill) tend to be broken down more slowly. 

In one case, measurable amounts of acrylonitrile 

were found in nearby wells 1 year after a spill. 

1.2 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO 

ACRYLONITRILE? 

Unless you live near a factory where acrylonitrile is 

made or near a hazardous waste site that contains 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

ACRYLONITRILE 

CAS#: 107-13-1 

Division of Toxicology December 1990 

acrylonitrile, you are unlikely to be exposed to 

acrylonitrile in the air you breathe or the water you 

drink. Concentrations of acrylonitrile in average air 

samples are too low to be measured, and most water 

samples also have no measurable acrylonitrile. 

Measurable amounts of acrylonitrile are found 

primarily near factories and hazardous waste sites. 

Concentrations in the air near a factory producing or 

using acrylonitrile average less than 1 part per 

billion (ppb). Extremely small amounts of 

acrylonitrile may be found in water near some 

factories that make or use it, but acrylonitrile 

rapidly breaks down and disappears from water. 

Plastic food containers that are made from 

acrylonitrile are regulated by the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) such that only 0.17 ppb can 

enter food; therefore, acrylonitrile intake from food 

packaging would be extremely low. Because 

acrylonitrile has been found in water and soil in 

some hazardous waste sites that contain this 

chemical, residents living very close to waste sites 

might possibly be exposed to acrylonitrile by 

breathing the air or drinking contaminated 

groundwater. 

1.3 HOW CAN ACRYLONITRILE ENTER 

AND LEAVE MY BODY? 

Acrylonitrile can enter your body if you breathe its 

vapors or eat or drink acrylonitrile-contaminated 

food or water. Acrylonitrile can pass through your 

skin, but how much gets through is not known. 

Inside the body, acrylonitrile is broken down into 

other chemicals, including cyanide. Most of these 

breakdown products are removed from the body in 

the urine. Overall, most acrylonitrile is removed 

from the body within 24 hours, but approximately 

25% of what is taken in becomes attached to 

materials inside cells of the body. 

1.4 HOW CAN ACRYLONITRILE AFFECT 

MY HEALTH? 

The effects of acrylonitrile on your health depend 

on how much you take into your body and whether 

you are exposed for a short or long period of time. 

If the levels of acrylonitrile are high enough, or if 

the exposure is for a long enough period of time, 

acrylonitrile can cause death. Small children are 

more likely to be affected than adults. In several 

cases, children died following exposures that adults 

found only mildly irritating. It should be noted that 

specific levels of acrylonitrile causing death were 

not reported. 

Exposure to large amounts of acrylonitrile for a 

short period of time, as might occur in the case of 

an industrial accident, results mainly in effects on 

the nervous system. Symptoms can include 

headache and nausea. At higher concentrations of 

acrylonitrile there may be temporary damage to red 

blood cells and the liver. These symptoms disappear 

when the exposure is stopped. 

Direct contact of your skin with acrylonitrile will 

damage the skin so that it may blister and peel. 

Exposure of the skin to high concentrations of 

acrylonitrile in the air may irritate the skin and 

cause it to turn red. The redness may last for several 

days. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services has determined that acrylonitrile may 

reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen. Longterm exposure to acrylonitrile in air or water may 

increase your chances of getting cancer. Humans 

who are repeatedly exposed to acrylonitrile in the 

workplace for many years may have a higher-thanaverage chance of developing lung cancer, although 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

ACRYLONITRILE 

CAS#: 107-13-1 

Division of Toxicology December 1990 

this is not clearly established. In animals, exposure 

to acrylonitrile in the air or in drinking water has 

been found to increase the number of tumors 

occurring in the brain, salivary glands, and 

intestines. 

Birth defects have been seen in animals exposed to 

high concentrations of acrylonitrile in the air or 

drinking water. Reproductive effects have been 

seen in animals given acrylonitrile in drinking water 

for three generations. However, no birth defects or 

effects on reproduction have been reported in 

humans. 

1.5 WHAT LEVELS OF EXPOSURE HAVE 

RESULTED IN HARMFUL HEALTH 

EFFECTS? 

In humans, breathing acrylonitrile at a concentration 

of 16 parts of acrylonitrile per million parts of air 

(ppm) causes headaches, nausea, and disorientation. 

This concentration is close to that at which 

acrylonitrile can be smelled in air (about 21 ppm). 

Breathing acrylonitrile in air for long periods of 

time and at high concentrations can cause death. 

The actual concentrations of acrylonitrile and 

breathing times which cause death have not been 

measured. There is no information on human health 

effects from eating or drinking acrylonitrile. 

Acrylonitrile can be smelled at a concentration of 

19 ppm when dissolved in water. 

In animals, drinking water that contains 142 ppm of 

acrylonitrile has caused nervous system disorders 

leading to death. Birth defects and effects on 

reproduction have occurred in animals that breathed 

acrylonitrile in air at levels of 80 ppm or drank it in 

water at 180 ppm. 

1.6 IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO 

DETERMINE WHETHER I HAVE BEEN 

EXPOSED TO ACRYLONITRILE? 

There is a test that can detect acrylonitrile in blood. 

In addition, the major breakdown products of 

acrylonitrile by the body (termed metabolites) can 

be measured in urine. Some breakdown products 

that can be measured are specific to acrylonitrile. 

However, one breakdown product of the body 

(cyanide) that is commonly measured is not specific 

to acrylonitrile exposure, and the results can be 

affected by cigarette smoking. Because special 

equipment is needed, these tests cannot be 

performed routinely in your doctor's office. There is 

not enough information at present to use the results 

of such tests to predict the nature or severity of any 

health effects that may result from exposure to 

acrylonitrile. 

1.7 WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO 

PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH? 

The EPA recommends that levels in lakes and 

streams should be limited to 0.058 parts of 

acrylonitrile per billion parts of water (0.058 ppb) to 

prevent possible health effects from drinking water 

or eating fish contaminated with acrylonitrile. Any 

release to the environment greater than 100 pounds 

of acrylonitrile must be reported to the EPA. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA) has set a limit of 2 ppm over an 8-hour 

workday, 40-hour workweek. 

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and 

Health (NIOSH) recommends that average 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

ACRYLONITRILE 

CAS#: 107-13-1 

Division of Toxicology December 1990 

workplace air should not exceed 1 ppm acrylonitrile 

averaged over a 10-hour period. 

The federal recommendations have been updated as 

of July 1999. 

1.8 WHERE CAN I GET MORE 

INFORMATION? 

If you have any more questions or concerns, 

please contact your community or state health or 

environmental quality department or: 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

Division of Toxicology 

1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32 

Atlanta, GA 30333 

Information line and technical assistance: 

Phone: 888-422-8737 

FAX: (770)-488-4178 

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. 

To order toxicological profiles, contact: 

National Technical Information Service 

5285 Port Royal Road 

Springfield, VA 22161 

Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000 

Reference 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

(ATSDR). 1990. Toxicological profile for 

Acrylonitrile. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov