At a glance
| Chemical family | Herbicides / Agricultural |
| CAS number | 1066-51-9 |
| IARC classification | Not classified (IARC) |
| Capture class | Limited |
| Evidence strength | Moderate |
| Primary audience | Farm families · Agricultural workers · General population |
Regulatory & certification status
Where AMPA (Glyphosate Metabolite) 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 | AMPA (CAS 1066-51-9) is the principal degradation product of the herbicide glyphosate and is assessed within the EU plant-protection-products regime rather than as a standalone industrial chemical under REACH. The 2023 EFSA peer review of glyphosate concluded that the metabolites AMPA, N-methyl-AMPA and N-acetyl-AMPA are unlikely to be genotoxic on the available data. No AMPA-specific REACH SVHC Candidate List, Authorisation List (Annex XIV) or restriction (Annex XVII) entry, and no AMPA-specific harmonised CLP classification, was identified. Regulatory — EFSA 2023 · ECHA |
| United States | AMPA is a glyphosate degradation product addressed within the federal pesticide (FIFRA) framework rather than as a standalone industrial chemical, and it is not separately listed on the California Proposition 65 list: OEHHA's chemical pages show no entry for CAS 1066-51-9 or 'aminomethylphosphonic acid'. The parent compound glyphosate (CAS 1071-83-6) is listed under Proposition 65 as known to cause cancer, effective 7 July 2017, via the Labor Code listing mechanism (which incorporates IARC's classification). Enforcement of the consumer-product cancer-warning requirement for glyphosate was permanently enjoined by a federal district court on First Amendment (compelled-speech) grounds, and that injunction was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit on 7 November 2023 (No. 20-16758). Regulatory — OEHHA |
| Canada | AMPA is addressed by Health Canada's PMRA as a glyphosate metabolite under the Pest Control Products Act rather than as a standalone industrial chemical under CEPA. PMRA's glyphosate re-evaluation decision RVD2017-01 (a final decision, not a proposal) expressly included AMPA as a transformation product in the assessment and granted continued registration of glyphosate products. No CEPA Schedule 1 listing or AMPA-specific Chemicals Management Plan restriction was identified. Regulatory — Government of Canada |
| Australia | As a glyphosate metabolite, AMPA is addressed under the agvet-chemicals regime of the APVMA rather than as a standalone industrial chemical. The APVMA's final regulatory position on glyphosate concluded there were no scientific grounds to place glyphosate under formal reconsideration and that the weight of evidence indicates glyphosate does not pose a carcinogenic or genotoxic risk to humans; AMPA features in that assessment. No AMPA-specific AICIS or IChEMS restriction was identified. Regulatory — APVMA |
| United Kingdom | Post-Brexit, AMPA is handled as a glyphosate metabolite under the GB plant-protection regime administered by HSE, with GB CLP also operated by HSE. Glyphosate remains an approved active substance in Great Britain, with its approval extended pending HSE's renewal review. No GB CLP harmonised classification or UK REACH restriction specific to AMPA itself was identified. (The current GB/EU harmonised classification of the parent glyphosate does not include a carcinogenicity or mutagenicity classification.) Regulatory — HSE |
| International | No international treaty or global determination targets AMPA itself: it is not a Stockholm Convention persistent organic pollutant, and IARC has not issued a separate cancer classification for AMPA. IARC classified the parent compound glyphosate as Group 2A (probably carcinogenic to humans) in 2015 (Monographs Volume 112); AMPA's genotoxicity data were reviewed in that monograph, but the 2A classification is for glyphosate, not for AMPA. Regulatory — IARC · WHO |
| Certifications | No published criteria of the common consumer-product certifications reviewed name AMPA as a screened analyte. CertiPUR-US governs polyurethane-foam content and emissions and is not framed around a pesticide metabolite; OEKO-TEX Standard 100 includes pesticide-residue parameters for textiles but does not call out AMPA by name; GREENGUARD / GREENGUARD Gold are low-VOC emissions certifications and would not capture a non-volatile compound like AMPA. AMPA is characterised as an environmental contaminant of water and food rather than a target analyte of these bedding-material schemes. Industry — WHO |
| The 72-hour test window | Largely missed. AMPA is a highly polar, water-soluble, essentially non-volatile phosphonic acid (a glyphosate breakdown product found in water, food and dust), so it does not off-gas and a short ~72-hour VOC emissions-chamber test does not capture it; detection requires targeted LC-MS/MS of residues rather than air sampling. Inferred — from the compound's volatility/emission profile versus the VOC focus of short chamber tests |
What it is
AMPA — aminomethylphosphonic acid, CAS 1066-51-9 — is the primary metabolite of glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide globally. It is produced when glyphosate breaks down through microbial degradation in soil, water, and plant tissues. AMPA is also produced as a degradation product of certain phosphonate compounds used in detergents and industrial water treatment, so detection of AMPA does not always indicate glyphosate exposure specifically.
Why it's relevant to the Atlas
AMPA is included in the Atlas as a companion compound to glyphosate for three reasons: (1) it persists longer than glyphosate in environmental media (soil, sediment, water), with substantially longer half-lives; (2) biomonitoring studies routinely measure both compounds together because the two provide a more complete picture of total glyphosate exposure; and (3) it demonstrates the multi-step nature of agricultural chemical exposure. Peer-reviewed — multiple environmental fate studies
Why it matters for sleep environments
For households in agricultural areas or with residents handling glyphosate occupationally, both glyphosate and AMPA can enter the home through dust tracked indoors. AMPA's higher environmental persistence means it may continue to accumulate in house dust even after glyphosate use stops. The full story of glyphosate exposure in a household requires monitoring both compounds. Detection of AMPA at higher concentrations than glyphosate itself is consistent with older or weathered contamination.
Related compounds
This is a preview of an Atlas entry under development. Last reviewed 2026-05-19. If you find a factual error, contact us.