Acrylonitrile

This chapter discusses the physical and chemical properties of acrylonitrile. In industrial settings, an acute exposure to acrylonitrile occurs through dermal or inhalation routes, and such exposures have been associated with human health effects. Most of the information on chronic acrylonitrile exposure comes from occupational studies of Chinese and Japanese workers. Increases in subjective symptoms, deficits in tests of neurobehavior, and increased adverse reproductive outcomes have been reported with chronic acrylonitrile exposure in occupational settings. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) classifies acrylonitrile as a class A3 carcinogen. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends that engineering and workplace controls to be put into effect to limit employee exposure to acrylonitrile, and when these controls are insufficient to reduce exposure to or below the permissible exposure limit (PEL), employees must be supplied with respiratory protection.

Impact/Purpose

This is a data-based book chapter on acrylonitrile focusing on toxicological information related to industrial hygiene.

Citation

Fritz, J. AND A. Luke. Acrylonitrile. Chapter 73, Raymond D. Harbison, Marie M. Bourgeois, and Giffe T. Johnson Hamilton & Hardy's Industrial Toxicology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ, 73:741-754, (2015). [DOI: 10.1002/9781118834015.ch73]

DOI: Acrylonitrile