Acrylonitrile is a fumigant insecticide and is now considered obsolete. It is highly soluble in water and miscible with most organic solvents. It has a high potential for leaching to groundwater. It is not expected to be persistent in soil systems. Acrylonitrile has a high mammalian toxicity and is carcinogenic. It is also a mutagen which may also cause adverse reproduction &/or development effects. Little is known about its ecotoxicology but it is moderately toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Data alerts
The following alerts are based on the data in the tables below. An absence of an alert does not imply the substance has no implications for human health, biodiversity or the environment but just that we do not have the data to form a judgement.
Environmental fate
Ecotoxicity
Human health
Environmental fate High alert: GUS: High leachability; Drainflow: Very mobile
Colourless to pale yellow liquid with a garlic type odour
Formulations
Property
Value
Example manufacturers & suppliers of products using this active now or historically
American Cyanamid Co., Degesh
Stauffer
Example products using this active
VCN
Ventox
Acritet
Acrylon
Formulation and application details
Fumigant
ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Solubility - In water at 20 °C (mg l⁻¹)
76000
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
High
Solubility - In organic solvents at 20 °C (mg l⁻¹)
100000
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
Methanol
-
100000
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
Ethyl acetate
-
100000
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
Acetone
-
100000
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
Heptane
-
Melting point (°C)
-84
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
-
Boiling point (°C)
77
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
-
Degradation point (°C)
-
-
-
Flashpoint (°C)
-
-
-
Octanol-water partition coefficient at pH 7, 20 °C
P
1.20 X 10-01
Calculated
-
Log P
-0.92
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
Low
Fat solubility of residues
Solubility
-
-
-
Data type
-
-
-
Density (g ml⁻¹)
0.806
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
-
Dissociation constant pKa) at 25 °C
-
-
-
-
Vapour pressure at 20 °C (mPa)
1.37 X 1007
L3 L = Pesticide manuals and hard copy reference books / other sources 3 = Unverified data of known source
Highly volatile. If applied directly to plants or soil, drift is a concern & mitigation is advisable
Henry's law constant at 25 °C (Pa m³ mol⁻¹)
0.063
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
Non-volatile
Volatilisation as max % of applied dose lost
From plant surface
-
-
-
From soil surface
-
-
-
Maximum UV-vis absorption L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹
-
-
-
Surface tension (mN m⁻¹)
-
-
-
Degradation
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
General biodegradability
-
Soil degradation (days) (aerobic)
DT₅₀ (typical)
15
F3 F = U.S. EPA ECOTOX database / U.S. EPA pesticide fate database / Miscellaneous WHO documents / FAO data, IPCS INCHEM data (US EPA Databases Related to Pesticide Risk Assessment ) 3 = Unverified data of known source
Non-persistent
DT₅₀ (lab at 20 °C)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (lab at 20 °C)
-
-
-
DT₉₀ (field)
-
-
-
DT₅₀ modelling endpoint
-
-
-
Note
Literature states degradation in activated sewage sludge is complete in 20 days
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Dissipation rate RL₅₀ (days) on and in plant matrix
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous photolysis DT₅₀ (days) at pH 7
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Aqueous hydrolysis DT₅₀ (days) at 20 °C and pH 7
Value
-
-
-
Note
-
Water-sediment DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Water phase only DT₅₀ (days)
-
-
-
Air degradation
As this parameter is not normally measured directly, a surrogate measure is used: ‘Photochemical oxidative DT₅₀’. Where data is available, this can be found in the Fate Indices section below.
Decay in stored produce DT₅₀
-
Soil adsorption and mobility
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
Linear
Kd (mL g⁻¹)
-
R4 R = Peer reviewed scientific publications 4 = Verified data
Very mobile
Koc (mL g⁻¹)
9.0
Notes and range
-
Freundlich
Kf (mL g⁻¹)
-
-
-
Kfoc (mL g⁻¹)
-
1/n
-
Notes and range
-
pH sensitivity
-
Fate indices
Property
Value
Source; quality score; and other information
Interpretation
GUS leaching potential index
3.58
Calculated
High leachability
SCI-GROW groundwater index (μg l⁻¹) for a 1 kg ha⁻¹ or 1 l ha⁻¹ application rate
Value
2.82 X 10-01
Calculated
-
Note
-
Potential for particle bound transport index
Low
Calculated
-
Potential for loss via drain flow
Very mobile
Calculated
-
Photochemical oxidative DT₅₀ (hrs) as indicator of long-range air transport risk
V3 V = ChemID Online Databases; Chemspider; PubChem. (ChemID ) 3 = Unverified data of known source
-
Health issues
Specific human health issues
Carcinogen
Genotoxic
Endocrine disruptor
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
A0 A = Chromosome aberration (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
B0 B = DNA damage/repair (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
C0 C = Gene mutation (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
D0 D = Genome mutation (EFSA database) 0 = No data
;
E1 E = Unspecified genotoxicity type (miscellaneous data source) 1 = Positive
No data found
Reproduction / development effects
Acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor
Neurotoxicant
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
No data found
No data found
Respiratory tract irritant
Skin irritant
Skin sensitiser
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
?Possibly, status not identified
Eye irritant
Phototoxicant
✓Yes, known to cause a problem
No data found
General human health issues
May cause light jaundice, leucoytosis, headaches and gastro-intestinal problems Liver and kidney toxicant IARC Group 2B carcinogen; CLP data - known human carcinogen
Handling issues
Property
Value and interpretation
General
May emit toxic fumes of cyanide on heating May be explosive under some conditions Flammable
Lewis, K.A., Tzilivakis, J., Warner, D. and Green, A. (2016) An international database for pesticide risk assessments and management. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 22(4), 1050-1064. DOI: 10.1080/10807039.2015.1133242
Environmental fate
Warning:
Ecotoxicity
