Chemicals can be released to the environment as a result of their manufacture, processing, and use. EPA has developed information summaries on selected chemicals to describe how you might be exposed to these chemicals, how exposure to them might affect you and the environment, what happens to them in the environment, who regulates them, and whom to contact for additional information. EPA is committed to reducing environmental releases of chemicals through source reduction and other practices that reduce creation of pollutants. It occurs naturally in several plants and foods.
Microorganisms release it as they break down organic material.
U.S. demand for butyraldehyde is likely to remain steady for the next several years. The largest users of butyraldehyde are companies that make rubber accelerators, synthetic resins, solvents, plasticizers, and high molecular weight polymers. Exposure to butyraldehyde can occur in the workplace or in the environment following releases to air, water, land, or groundwater. Exposure can also occur when people eat certain foods, such as cheese, wine, and honey, and when they breathe air contaminated with diesel exhaust. Butyraldehyde enters the body when people breathe air or consume water or food contaminated with butyraldehyde.