&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
4601
EPA 811-F-95-004a-T
October 1995
National Primary Drinking
Water Regulations
Acrylamide
CHEMICAL/ PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
CAS NUMBER: 79-06-1
COLOR/ FORM/ODOR:
White odorless flake-like crystals
derived from benzene. Available in
powder form or as an aqueous
solution of 50% acrylamide monomer.
M.P.: 84.5° C B.P.: 125° C
VAPOR PRESSURE: 0.007 mm Hg at 20° C
OCTANOL/WATER PARTITION (Kow):
Log Kow = -0.67
DENSITY/SPEC. GRAV.: 1.122 at 30° C
SOLUBILITY: 2.2 kg/L of water at 25° C;
Extremely soluble in water
SOIL SORPTION COEFFICIENT:
N/A; High mobility in soil
ODOR/TASTE THRESHOLDS: N/A
BlOCONCENTRATION FACTOR:
BCFs of 0.86 to 1.12 in fish; not
expected to bioconcentrate in aquatic
organisms.
HENRY'S LAW COEFFICIENT:
3.2x10:'° atm-cu m/mole;
TRADE NAMES/SYNONYMS:
2-Propenamide, Acrylic amide,
Ethylenecarboxamide, Amresco Acryl-
40, Acrylagel, Optimum
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS
MCLG: zero mg/L
MCL: Treatment Technique
HAL(child): 1 day: 1.5 mg/L
.10-day: 0.3 mg/L
HEALTH EFFECTS SUMMARY
Acute: EPA has found acrylamide to potentially cause
the following health effects from acute exposures at
levels above the MCL: damage to central and peripheral
nervous systems, weakness and ataxia in legs.
Drinking water levels which are considered "safe" for
short-term exposures: Fora 10-kg (22 Ib.) child consum-
ing 1 liter of water per day: a one-day exposure of 1.5 mg/
L; a ten-day exposure to 0.3 mg/L; upto a 7-year expo-
sure to 0.002 mg/L.
Chronic: Acrylamide has the potential to cause the
following health effects from long-term exposures at
levels above the MCL: damage to central and peripheral
nervous systems, paralysis.
Cancer: There is some evidence that acrylamide may
have the potential to cause cancer from a lifetime expo-
sure at levels above the MCL.
USAGE PATTERNS
Demand for.acrylamide was projected to increase
slightly: from 110 million Ibs. in 1987 to 120 million Ibs in
1992 (projected). In 1987 it was estimated that industries
consumed it as follows: Water treatment, 45%; oil drilling,
20%; pulp and paper, 20%; mineral processing, 10%;
other, 5%.
The greatest use of acrylamide is as a flocculant in the
treatment of sewage, waste and drinking water.
Other uses'of include: as an intermediate in the pro-
duction of organic chemicals; synthesis of dyes, in the
sizing of paper and textiles; in ore processing; in the
construction of dam foundations and tunnels.
Toxic RELEASE INVENTORY -
RELEASES TO WATER AND LAND: 1987 TO 1993
TOTALS (in pounds)
Top Releases by State
Ml
WA
CT
LA
PA
Major Industries*
Plastics and resins
Pulp mills
Indust. organics
* Water/Land totals only
greater 100 Ibs.
Water
36,287
*
12,200
8,000
5,690
4,367
2,505
19,002
8,000
3,107
include facilities with
Land
5,818
0
0
0
500
20
2,177
0
2,200
releases
October 1995
Technical Version
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RELEASE PATTERNS
Acrylamide may be released into wastewater during its
production and use in the synthesis of dyes, manufacture
of polymers, adhesives, paper, paperboard and textile
additive, soil-conditioning agents, ore processing, oil
recovery, and permanent press fabrics, and in the manu-
facture of polyacrylamides for use as a flocculating agent
for water treatment. The latter is the largest end use,
being employed in processing mineral ores as well as
treating waste water and drinking water. Improvements
in the polymerization process has reduced the monomer
content of these polymers from 5% to 0.3%. Other
sources of release to water is from acrylamide-based
sewer grouting and recycling of waste paper.
From 1987 to 1993, according to EPA's Toxic Chemi-
cal Release Inventory, acrylamide releases to land and
watertotalled over 40,000 Ibs., of which about 85 percent
was to water. These releases were primarily from plastics
industries which use acrylamide as a monomer. The
largest releases occurred in Michigan.
lation had occurred. The uptake was rapid in the first 24
hr and then leveling off to a plateau after 72 hr. When the
fish were transferred to fresh water, levels of acrylamide
declined to 75% of the initial cbncn after 96 hr.
In another report, the rate of accumulatiph of acrylam-
ide monomer in fish was about 0.8 times the concentra-
tion in the rearing water (10 ppm) at day 40. The accumu-
lation of acrylamide monomer in fish from polymer was
nondetectable. Therefore, it is concluded that the use of
acrylamide polymer as a coagulant may not cause seri-
ous problems for human health.
Human exposure will be primarily occupational via
dermal contact and inhalation, although exposure to the
general public has resulted from the leaching of the
acrylamide monomer from polyacyrlamide flocculants
used in water treatment.
ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
Acrylamide degrades rapidly with acclimation in biode-
gradability screening tests. Acrylamide degraded in fil-
tered river water in 4 to 12 days. Adsorption to sediment
should not be significant.
If released on land, acrylamide would be expected to
leach readily into the ground and biodegrade within a few
weeks based on experimental data. In 5 surface soils that
were moistened to field capacity, 74-94% degradation
occurred in 14 days in 3 soils and 79 to 80% degradation
occurred in 6 days in the other two soils.
In order to access the efficiency of sewage works in
removing acrylamide, two sewage works were dosed for
four times longer than the residence time. Little loss of
acrylamide occured during initial or final settling. How-
ever 50 to 70% was lost in the activated sludge plants.
Further studies showed that high loss rates required high
microbial activity or, in particular, contact with surfaces of
high microbial activity. Studies of the river into which the
sewage works discharged its effluents suggest that mi-
crobial degradation is unlikely to affect the level of acryl-
amide in river water for several hours, and possibly days,
even in a river into which acrylamide is continually dis-
charged. Degradation was however, more marked in the
summer.
In the atmosphere, the vapor phase chemical should
react with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals
(half-life 6.6 hr) and be washed out by rain.
Bioconcentration in fish is not significant. Uptake of
acrylamide was studied in fingerling trout for 72 hr found
the BCF in the carcass and viscera was 0.86 and 1.12,
respectively, indicating that no appreciable bioaccumu-
OTHER REGULATORY INFORMATION
MONITORING AND ANALYSIS:
No analytical methods are available so monitoring is not required. This
contaminant is being regulated by requiring use of a treatment technique
to limit its use by drinking water systems.
TREATMENT
Treatment technique: When acrylamide is used in drinking water systems,
the combination of dose and monomer level may not exceed the following
level:
0.05 % dosed at 1 mg/L
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
* EPA can provide further regulatory and other general information:
EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline - 800/426-4791
* Other sources of toxicological and environmental fate data include:
• Toxic Substance Control Act Information Line - 202/554-1404
Toxics Release Inventory, National Library of Medicine - 301/496-6531
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - 404/639-6000
October 1995
Technical Version
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