EWG Skin Deep® | What is ACRYLONITRILE

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Data: Robust

Acrylonitrile

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (high), Ecotoxicology (low), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high), and Occupational hazards (high)

SYNONYMS

ACRYLONITRILE

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

MODERATE

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
MODERATE

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as irritant	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of skin irritation	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human lung and skin toxicant	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Known human respiratory toxicant	EPA Hazardous Air Pollutants
Classified as toxic or harmful	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of respiratory toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)	National Library of Medicine HazMap
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)	EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs
Classified as a low human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
reproductive - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox study	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Occupational hazards

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Cancer - strong evidence	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
Possible human carcinogen	California EPA Proposition 65
Possible human carcinogen	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Possible human carcinogen	EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
Possible human carcinogen	NTP Report on Carcinogens, 11th Edition
Limited evidence of carcinogenicity	Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens
Limited evidence of carcinogenicity	NIOSH Occupational Carcinogens
Limited evidence of carcinogenicity	Amer Conf of Gov't Industrial Hygienists - Carcinogens
Cancer - limited evidence	Silent Spring's Mammary Carcinogens Reviews Database

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife	Canada PBTs - Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET)
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of reproductive toxicity	National Library of Medicine HazMap
Limited evidence of reproductive toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicity	EPA Clean Water Act - Priority Pollutants
Wildlife and environmental toxicity	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Miscellaneous

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handling	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
2369 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005. Office of Air. The 112(b)1 Hazardous Air Pollutants List (as modified). Last modified: 12 Dec 2005.
ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
California EPA (California Environmental Protection Agency). 9/2008. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Chemicals known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines.
NTP (National Toxicology Program). 2005. Report on Carcinogens, Eleventh Edition; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program.
IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).
NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). 2006. NIOSH Carcinogens List (Potential occupational carcinogens). http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npotocca.html.
ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) 2008. ACGIH cancer classification system. www.acgih.org.
Rudel RA, KR Attfield, JN Schifano and JG Brody. Chemicals Causing Mammary Gland Tumors in Animals Signal New Directions for Epidemiology, Chemicals Testing, and Risk Assessment for Breast Cancer Prevention. CANCER Supplement. 2007 Jun 15;109(12):2635-2666.
EC (Environment Canada). 1994. Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET). ARET substance list of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED™ mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST

Low Availability

Moderate Availability

High Availability