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. Everyone is exposed to very low levels of pyridine in air, water, and food. Workers who make or use the chemical may be exposed to higher levels of it. Studies in people and animals suggest that pyridine may damage the liver. This chemical has been found in at least 11 of 1,416 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Pyridine is a colorless liquid with an unpleasant smell.
It can be made from crude coal tar or from other chemicals. Pyridine is used to dissolve other substances. It is also used to make many different products such as medicines, vitamins, food flavorings, paints, dyes, rubber products, adhesives, insecticides, and herbicides. Pyridine can also be formed from the breakdown of many natural materials in the environment. Pyridine is primarily released to the environment from industries that make and use this chemical.