Ethyl Acrylate
What is it?
Ethyl acrylate is the ethyl ester of acrylic acid and is an acrylic monomer used to manufacture plastics.
What is a monomer? A monomer is a starting material or single unit from which a polymer is built. It refers to the repeat units that make up the polymer chains. Example: Ethylene is the monomer for polyethylene, and styrene for polystyrene.
How can I avoid it?
Avoidance requires reading the product labels, package inserts, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and on occasion, direct communication with the manufacturer.
It is optimal to completely avoid exposure to the ingredients to which you are allergic. If you must be exposed to this acrylate (for example, because of your job), you may try to wear nitrile gloves and change them every 10 minutes. Acrylates pass through nitrile gloves if they are worn for longer periods of time. Other gloves such as rubber latex gloves are less desirable since acrylates pass through them quickly.
Uses:
- Acrylic (non-woven) fiber production
- Adhesives
- Artificial nails
- Cleaning products
- Coating additives
- Denture material
- Naturally found in some foods
- Pineapple
- Beaufort cheese
- Passion fruit
- Vanilla flavoring
- Flavoring agent added to some foods
- Leather finish resins
- Paints
- Paper coatings
- Plastic products
- Rubber parts
- Sealant chemicals
- Textile production
- Water-based latex
Other names for ethyl acrylate:
- Ethyl propenoate
- Acrylic ethyl ester
- 2-Propenic acid, ethyl ester
- Acrylic acid, ethyl ester
Potential cross-reacting/co-reacting substances:
- A variety of other acrylic monomers and polymers
Rev07072025
