2006 Annual Report 4d.Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a Specific Cooperative Agreement between ARS and The University of Toledo. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the parent CRIS 3607-21000-011-00D Develop Improved Technologies for Soilless Greenhouse Plant Production to Minimize Water, Labor, Agrochemical Inputs and Environmental Impacts. The objective of this cooperative project is to determine the fate of agrochemicals and their degradation products that are commonly used in the greenhouse industry including growth regulators, fertilizers, pesticides, and soilless media components such as polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAM). We have begun to investigate the potential breakdown product of PAM, the neurotoxin and carcinogen acrylamide. In the past year, we have acquired an LC-GC-GC (liquid hromatography, double gas chromatograph), mastered techniques to isolate and quantify acrylamide from mixed solutions and soilless media mixes, and identified acrylamide in a commercial hydrogel mix. We have also performed preliminary time-course experiments that have identified the persistence of acrylamide in PAM-soilless media mixtures as well as find acrylamide contamination in allegedly acrylamide and PAM-free mixes. By determining acrylamide concentrations, contaminations, and persistence, worker-risk levels of this neurotoxin and carcinogen can be determined.