What is Melamine?
What is Melamine?
Posted by Viola Woolcott
Melamine was invented in the 1830s by a German scientist. It became the most used ‘trendy’ material for most plastic household goods and laminates in the late 1930s.
Melamine is also used in the manufacture of fertilisers. It’s compound is composed of nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen. If mixed with formaldehyde in extreme heat, melamine turns into a mouldable material, which once cooled is unbreakable.
I know, scientifically it sounds great and just the thing to have. But it also brings serious health issues, some of them most obvious.
A recent article from October 2nd, 2008 Eurosirveillance explains:
“Melamine, when associated with cyanuric acid, can cause renal failure by the formation of insoluble melamine cyanurate crystals in renal tubules and/or the formation of calculi in kidneys, ureter, urethra or the urinary bladder. These calculi are a mixture of melamine, protein, uric acid and phosphate and as such are distinct from other kidney stones.”
Cyanuric acid is white in colour. It is odourless solid and used as a component in bleaches, disinfectants, and herbicides.
Now, surprisingly, the FDA allows certain amounts of cyanuric acid to be present in some non-protein nitrogen (NPN) additives, which are then used in animal feed and drinking water. In water, cyanuric acid is mostly used as a precursor to N-chlorinated cyan rates. Unfortunately which are than used as disinfectants.
Melamine combined with cyanuric acid forms little “plastic stones”, which are insoluble and unbreakable. And what’s most important, next time when you see your baby chew on that new, cheap “Made in China” plastic toy, remember the little plastic stones which YOUR BODY CANNOT DISPOSE OF!!
And guess what? They still declare and insist that this compound is more or less harmless for us humans.
Filed under: Dare 2B Aware on November 23rd, 2008
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