Acrylamide exposure

In a human mortality study of 371 workers no increase in total malignant neoplasms or any specific cancers attributable to acrylamide exposure were found." Exposure levels reached l.Omg/m before 1957 and were between 0.1 and 0.6mg/m after 1970. However, this study was of such a limited sample size that only large excesses could have been detected. 

A much larger cohort of 8854 men, 2293 of whom were exposed to acrylamide, from 1925 to 1983 was examined for mortality. This cohort consisted of four chemical plant populations. No statistically significant excess of all-cause or cause-specific mortality was found among acrylamide workers. Analysis by acrylamide exposure levels showed no trend of increased risk of mortality from several cancer sites. Although the authors concluded that the results do not support the hypothesis that aery-... 

Hogan KA, Scott CLS Mortality patterns and acrylamide exposure (letters). J Occup Med 32 947-949, 1990... 

Nonmetallic neurotoxins are frequently used in industry in manufacturing of chemicals and resins or as solvents. Some examples are hydrogen sulfide (which paralyzes specifically the nervous centers that control respiratory movement), carbon disulfide, -hexane, methyl -butyl ketone, and acrylamide. Exposure to all of these substances may occur through inhalation of vapors. In addition, carbondisufide and acrylamide may enter the system by dermal absorption. -Hexane and methyl -butyl ketone are not toxic by themselves but are activated by cytochrome P-450 to the neurotoxic hexanedione (CH3COCH2CH2COCH3). 

Lack of prior knowledge of coffee as an important source of acrylamide exposure... 

Although the mechanism of acrylamide toxicity is unknown, glycidamide may mediate the genotoxicity associated with acrylamide exposure. While both acrylamide and glycidamide bind to hemoglobin in vivo, only glycidamide forms adducts with DNA. 

Available epidemiological studies have not provided a significant link between acrylamide exposures and increases in the incidence of cancer. 

Both a linear extrapolation in the low part of the dose-response curve and a steeper curve reflecting a different MOA in the higher part of the dose-response curve—TERA s assessment for thyroid tumors resulting from acrylamide exposure (Dourson et al. 2008). 

Urban, M. Kavvadias, D. Riedel, K. Scherer, G. Urinary mercapturic acids and a hemoglobin adduct for the dosimetry of acrylamide exposure in smokers and nonsmokers. Inhalation Tox. 2006,18, 831-839. 

The acrylamide monomer may be neurotoxic, carcinogenic, genotoxic and hazardous to reproduction. Recent studies confirm that acrylamide exposures cause cancer and reproductive effects in animals, but epidemiological studies have not demonstrated these effects in humans. The neurotoxic effects from acrylamide exposure include peripheral nerve damage and central-nervous-system effects (Edvards 1975 Pye and Peachey 1976 Lambert et al. 1987 Dooms-Goossens et al. 1991). 

Contact with aciylamide can be hazardous and should be avoided. The most serious toxicological effect of exposure to acrylamide monomer is as a... 

Molded polyamide surfaces can be hardened by grafting with Ai,Ai-diallylacrylamide [3085-68-5] monomer under exposure to electron beam (159). AijAZ-DiaHyltartardiamide [58477-85-3] is a cross-linking agent for acrylamide reversible gels in electrophoresis. Such gels can be dissolved by a dilute periodic acid solution in order to recover protein fractions. 

In the case of photoinitiated polymerization, an oxygen-free aqueous solution of acrylamide with a concentration of about 50% mixed with a photosensibilizer and other required additives is passed through a column-type apparatus with exterior water-cooling. A thin layer of the solution is exposed to a mercury lamp, acquires the consistency of a plastic film, which then can be passed through a second exposure zone, and is crushed and dried. Acrylamide polymers produced by this method are easily soluble and have a low residual monomer content. 

In April this year, scientists in Sweden announced that they found higher-than-expected levels of acrylamide in foods that have been cooked at high temperatures, particularly those that are rich in carbohydrates. According to the FDA, it does not appear to be present in food before cooking. FDA has begun to measure acrylamide levels in various foods and will then derive some idea of the resulting dietary exposure levels. Acrylamide is not an unknown substance. Related chemicals are cleared for a variety of food packaging uses connected with creation of copolymers, but it is also listed by California s... 

It also appears that traditional forms of food processing may not be as safe as expected. The example of the formation of acrylamide in different heat-processed foods may be cited (see Chapter 13 of this volume). However, there are no incontrovertible answers to the questions is acrylamide in food harmful for consumers , and what is the average intake The American Council on Science and Health states that there is no credible evidence that acrylamide in foods poses human cancer risk. New Zealand food safety experts, using a no observable adverse effect level for acrylamide of 0.1 mg per kg bodyweight, also estimate that people eating fried potatos and crisps (products suspected to contain the largest amounts of acrylamide) are a very low risk of cancer from this source. European Union experts decided that the risk of exposure to polyacrylamide in food remains undetermined (Sharp, 2003). 

So-called peripheral neuropathies can result from excessive exposure to certain industrial solvents such as carbon disulfide (CS2, used in the rubber and rayon industries) and hexane (CgHn, once used in certain glues and cleaning fluids). Over-exposure to acrylamide, an important industrial chemical, and chronic alcohol abuse can also induce this effect. As the name implies, it involves attack of the chemical on and damage to axonal portions of neurons. Typical symptoms of peripheral neuropathies include weakness or numbness in the limbs, which are more or less reversible depending upon the specific agent and the intensity of exposure. 

Central nervous system effects predominate in acute exposures at massive doses, whereas peripheral neuropathy is more common with lower doses.After cessation of exposure to acrylamide, most cases recover, although the course of improvement can extend over months to years and depends on the severity of exposure. Because peripheral neurons can regenerate and central axons cannot, severely affected individuals may still experience residual ataxia, distal weakness, reflex loss, or sensory disturbance. 

Acrylamide has also been reported to act as a skin tumor initiator in mice by three exposure routes and to increase the yield of lung adenomas in another strain of mice. "... 

Calleman CJ, Wu Y, He F, et al Relationships between biomarkers of exposure and neurological effects in a group of workers exposed to acrylamide. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 126 361-371, 1994... 

Acrylonitrile is a monomer used in high volume principally in the manufacture of acrylic fibres, resins (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, styrene-acrylonitrile and others) and nitrile rubbers (butadiene-acrylonitrile). Other important uses are as an intermediate in the preparation of adiponitrile (for nylon 6/6) and acrylamide and, in the past, as a fumigant. Occupational exposures to acrylonitrile occur in its production and use in the preparation of fibres, resins and other products. It is present in cigarette smoke and has been detected rarely and at low levels in ambient air and water. 

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