The vapor is very irritating and the liquid form is carcinogenic. Propiolactone is "reasonably expected to be a human carcinogen." (IARC 1999)Recognized - carcinogen, Suspected - gastrointestinal or liver toxicant, respiratory toxicant, skin or sense organ toxicant. More hazardous than most chemicals in 3 out of 3 ranking systems. On at least 5 federal regulatory lists. Ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds (worst 10%) to humans. Propiolactone was once widely used in the manufacture of acrylic acid and its esters, but its use has been mostly phased out in favor of safer and less expensive alternatives.


Chemical descriptions:

Wikipedia.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-propiolactone

National Library of Medicine: PubChem
http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/summary/summary.cgi?sid=10326964

Adverse effects
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed&term=%22Propiolactone%2fadverse%20effects%22[Mesh%20Terms%3anoexp]

Toxicity
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed&term=%22Propiolactone%2ftoxicity%22[Mesh%20Terms%3anoexp]

Scorecard: Pollution Information Site
http://www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/summary.tcl?edf_substance_id=57%2d57%2d8


a.k.a. 2-oxatanone Propiolactone, â-propiolactone, 2-oxatanone, Propiolactone


Present in these vaccines:
Rabies Vaccine Adsorbed
Fluvirin – influenza virus Hide.