At a glance
| Chemical family | α,β-unsaturated amide — a small reactive monomer (the building block of polyacrylamide) |
| CAS number | 79-06-1 |
| Classification | IARC Group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans), Monograph Volume 60 (1994); NTP Report on Carcinogens — reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen; EPA IRIS — B2 probable human carcinogen; also a documented neurotoxicant at occupational doses |
| Where you encounter it | Primarily food (Maillard-reaction formation in fried/baked/roasted starches); tobacco smoke; residual monomer in polyacrylamide used for water treatment, cosmetics, textiles, and grouts |
| Sleep micro-environment relevance | Minor and indirect — thirdhand tobacco smoke residue, and trace residual monomer in polyacrylamide-containing personal-care or textile products. Diet dominates total exposure |
| Activated carbon capture | High — a small polar amide that activated carbon adsorbs effectively from water; favourable at low concentrations |
Regulatory & certification status
Where Acrylamide stands across the major regulatory systems and the certifications a bedroom product might carry. Each row links to the governing instrument; where a jurisdiction has no specific measure, that is stated plainly rather than left blank.
| European Union | REACH Substance of Very High Concern, added to the Candidate List on 30 March 2010 for its carcinogenic and mutagenic properties; not on the Authorisation List (Annex XIV). Restricted under REACH Annex XVII entry 60: by Commission Regulation (EU) No 366/2011, acrylamide 'shall not be placed on the market or used as a substance or constituent of mixtures in a concentration, equal to or greater than 0,1 % by weight for grouting applications after 5 November 2012.' Harmonised CLP classification (Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, index 616-003-00-0): Carc. 1B, Muta. 1B, Repr. 2. Regulatory — EUR-Lex |
| United States | Under TSCA, EPA's IRIS assessment characterises acrylamide as 'likely to be carcinogenic to humans.' Acrylamide is not currently the subject of a completed or designated high-priority TSCA risk evaluation (EPA's 2024 high-priority designations covered acrylonitrile and four other chemicals, not acrylamide); no specific TSCA use restriction was identified. It is listed under California Proposition 65 as a carcinogen (listed 1 January 1990, via IARC and US EPA as authoritative bodies) and for developmental and male reproductive toxicity (both listed 25 February 2011, via the NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction). Regulatory — US EPA IRIS · OEHHA |
| Canada | Acrylamide (2-propenamide, CAS 79-06-1) is on Schedule 1 (List of Toxic Substances) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. It was added by the Order Adding Toxic Substances to Schedule 1 (SOR/2011-35), registered 10 February 2011 and published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 145, No. 5, on 2 March 2011. The final screening assessment under the Chemicals Management Plan (Challenge) concluded that acrylamide meets the criterion in paragraph 64(c) of CEPA 1999 — i.e. it is 'toxic' on the basis of risk to human life or health; the assessment focused primarily on human-health risks. Regulatory — Canada Gazette · Government of Canada |
| Australia | Acrylamide (CAS 79-06-1) was assessed under the former NICNAS scheme as a Priority Existing Chemical (PEC/23; full risk-assessment report published May 2002), covering its high-volume use as a monomer and in polyacrylamide products; the report identified neurotoxicity as the critical effect. NICNAS functions are now under AICIS. No specific AICIS / IChEMS placing-on-market ban for acrylamide was confirmed from a primary source. Regulatory — AICIS |
| United Kingdom | Great Britain inherited the EU position post-Brexit: under GB CLP the harmonised classification carcinogen 1B, mutagen 1B and reproductive toxicant 2 carried over, as did the GB REACH Annex XVII grouting restriction (>=0.1% by weight). This reflects the retained EU classification; a direct acrylamide entry was not quoted from the live HSE GB Mandatory Classification and Labelling List itself, so this is reported as inherited rather than independently confirmed from the GB-MCL. Regulatory — HSE |
| International | IARC classifies acrylamide in Group 2A, 'probably carcinogenic to humans' (Monographs Vol. 60, 1994). The evaluation rests on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals together with mechanistic genotoxicity data; evidence in humans was assessed as inadequate. No Stockholm Convention or other global chemicals treaty applies. Regulatory — IARC Monographs Vol. 60 |
| Certifications | CertiPUR-US: not specifically named — its prohibited list targets PBDE/Tris (TDCPP, TCEP, TEPA, TDBPP) flame retardants, mercury/lead and other heavy metals, formaldehyde, ozone depleters and CPSC-regulated phthalates, not acrylamide. OEKO-TEX Standard 100: tests a broad restricted-substance list (1,000+ parameters) but no acrylamide-specific limit value was confirmed from the published criteria catalogue. GREENGUARD / GREENGUARD Gold: a low-VOC chemical-emissions certification that does not specifically screen for a low-volatility monomer like acrylamide. Industry — CertiPUR-US · OEKO-TEX |
| The 72-hour test window | Largely missed. Acrylamide is a low-volatility solid (used mainly as a residual monomer bound in polyacrylamide and acrylate/SBR polymers) that partitions into house dust rather than off-gassing, so a short ~72h VOC emissions chamber test does not reliably capture it. Inferred — from the compound's volatility/emission profile versus the VOC focus of short chamber tests |
What it is
Acrylamide is a small, water-soluble reactive molecule: an amide with a carbon-carbon double bond that makes it eager to polymerize. Industrially, that reactivity is the point — acrylamide is the monomer used to make polyacrylamide, a polymer used in drinking-water treatment, paper manufacturing, cosmetics, soil conditioners, and construction grouts. The finished polymer is considered inert; the concern is residual unreacted monomer.
The exposure story that made acrylamide a household word, though, is dietary. In 2002, Swedish researchers discovered that acrylamide forms in food through the Maillard reaction — the same browning chemistry that gives fried and baked foods their flavour — when the amino acid asparagine reacts with reducing sugars at temperatures above roughly 120 °C. Fries, chips, crackers, toast, biscuits, and coffee are common sources. This dietary route dominates total human exposure for non-smokers.
IARC classifies acrylamide as Group 2A, probably carcinogenic to humans. Regulatory — IARC Monograph 60 The mechanism is well-characterized: the body metabolizes acrylamide (via the enzyme CYP2E1) to glycidamide, a reactive epoxide that forms DNA adducts — the molecular basis of its genotoxicity. The U.S. National Toxicology Program lists it as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen, and at higher occupational doses acrylamide is also a peripheral neurotoxicant. Regulatory — NTP, EPA IRIS
How it intersects the bedroom
Thirdhand tobacco smoke
Acrylamide is present in tobacco smoke, and CDC biomonitoring data show that cigarette smoking is associated with substantially higher acrylamide exposure across the US population — smokers carry markedly higher hemoglobin-adduct levels than non-smokers. Peer-reviewed — Chen et al. (2022), Environmental Research, DOI 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112774 (NHANES 2011–2016) In a bedroom with a smoking history, acrylamide is part of the broader thirdhand-smoke residue that settles into dust and soft furnishings, alongside nicotine and the tobacco-specific nitrosamines. This is the clearest bedroom-relevant pathway — though it is one component of a much larger thirdhand-smoke mixture, not a standout.
Residual monomer in polyacrylamide products
Polyacrylamide appears in some personal-care formulations (as a thickener or film-former), in certain textiles and finishes, and in construction materials. Finished polyacrylamide is inert, but trace residual acrylamide monomer can remain. Whether this contributes measurably to bedroom exposure has not, to our knowledge, been quantified, and it is likely small. Inferred — residual-monomer presence is documented in general; a bedroom-specific contribution is not characterised
Why diet is the honest headline
It would be easy to dramatize acrylamide, but the evidence is clear that food is the dominant exposure route for most people, with tobacco a strong second for smokers. The sleep environment is a minor contributor. We include acrylamide because the Atlas aims to be a complete reference and because of its genuine thirdhand-smoke link — not to imply your mattress or bedroom is a meaningful acrylamide source.
What the research says
Documented health effects
The carcinogenicity case rests on sufficient animal evidence and a clear genotoxic mechanism through the glycidamide metabolite; human epidemiology has been less consistent, which is why the IARC classification is 2A (probable) rather than Group 1. Regulatory — IARC Monograph 60 Acrylamide is also an established neurotoxicant at occupational exposure levels, causing peripheral neuropathy. Regulatory — ATSDR
Exposure biomonitoring
Acrylamide exposure is tracked through hemoglobin adducts in blood and the urinary metabolites AAMA and GAMA. CDC biomonitoring detects acrylamide adducts across essentially the whole sampled population, and the data cleanly separate smokers from non-smokers. Regulatory — NHANES This is well-established human exposure science; what is not established is any meaningful sleep-environment contribution.
What helps reduce exposure
For total exposure, the lever is diet and smoking, not the bedroom. Lower-temperature cooking, avoiding heavy browning of starchy foods, and not smoking are the interventions that move acrylamide body burden. We note this plainly because pretending the bedroom is the answer would be misleading.
Address thirdhand smoke if the bedroom has a smoking history — deep-cleaning or replacing textiles and washing bedding reduces the tobacco-derived residue reservoir that includes acrylamide.
Ventilation and activated-carbon filtration help with the broad mix of indoor pollutants; acrylamide specifically adsorbs well onto carbon, but for this compound the bedroom contribution is small to begin with.
What does NOT help
- Treating your mattress as an acrylamide source. It is not a documented one; focus on diet, smoking, and thirdhand-smoke residue.
- HEPA-only air purifiers. They capture particles, not the gas/residue forms relevant here.
- Acrylamide-specific "detox" products. Exposure is managed through diet and smoking behaviour, not consumer detox claims.
Open research questions
- Whether residual acrylamide monomer in polyacrylamide-containing personal-care or textile products contributes any measurable bedroom exposure. Speculation
- The acrylamide fraction within thirdhand-smoke residue and its re-emission behaviour in the sleep environment. Speculation
The Embr Exposure Ledger: Acrylamide
One chemical, several public questions, answered from independent datasets and joined here — the environment it shows up in, the body burden it carries, how it is regulated, and what actually reduces it.
Detection and body-burden figures are occurrence data, not a personal measurement or a health diagnosis. Part of the Embr Exposure Ledger — an open, cross-dataset chemical join (download the data), reusable with attribution.
Citations
- IARC Monographs Volume 60 (1994). Acrylamide — Group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans). Regulatory
- NTP. 15th Report on Carcinogens — Acrylamide (reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen). Regulatory
- EPA. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) — Acrylamide (2010 toxicological review). Regulatory
- ATSDR. Toxicological Profile for Acrylamide. Regulatory
- Cigarette smoking is associated with acrylamide exposure among the U.S. population: NHANES 2011–2016. PMC11268364 Peer-reviewed
Frequently asked questions
What is acrylamide and where does it come from?
Acrylamide is a small reactive compound. Most human exposure is dietary: it forms via the Maillard reaction when starchy foods are fried, baked, or roasted above about 120 °C — think fries, chips, toast, and coffee. It is also present in tobacco smoke, and the monomer is used to make polyacrylamide for water treatment, cosmetics, and industrial uses. IARC classifies acrylamide as Group 2A, probably carcinogenic to humans.
Does acrylamide have anything to do with my bedroom?
Mostly indirectly. The dominant exposure route is food, not the sleep environment. The bedroom-relevant pathways are thirdhand tobacco smoke (acrylamide is in cigarette smoke, and smokers carry markedly higher body burdens) and trace residual acrylamide monomer in polyacrylamide-containing personal-care and textile products. These are minor next to diet, which is why this page is honest that acrylamide is included for completeness rather than as a major bedroom exposure.
Is acrylamide a carcinogen?
IARC classifies acrylamide as Group 2A — probably carcinogenic to humans — based on sufficient evidence in animals and a clear genotoxic mechanism: the body converts acrylamide to glycidamide, a reactive epoxide that forms DNA adducts. The U.S. National Toxicology Program lists it as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Human epidemiology is less consistent, which is why it is 2A rather than Group 1.
How is acrylamide exposure measured?
Through hemoglobin adducts in blood and urinary metabolites (AAMA and GAMA). CDC biomonitoring detects acrylamide adducts in essentially the entire sampled population, and the data clearly separate smokers from non-smokers — cigarette smoking is associated with substantially higher acrylamide exposure.
Does a smoking history in a bedroom raise acrylamide?
Tobacco smoke contains acrylamide, and smokers have markedly higher measured exposure than non-smokers. Thirdhand smoke residue is the plausible bedroom reservoir, alongside the other tobacco-derived compounds that settle into dust and soft furnishings. Addressing thirdhand smoke is the relevant step; the bedroom's acrylamide contribution is otherwise small.
Related compounds
Embr is a sleep environment company researching and addressing the chemistry of the bedroom. Research and product development in progress.
Last reviewed 2026-06-26. If you find a factual error, contact us.