Melamine - Uses and Concerns

Melamine (IUPAC named as 1,3,5-Triazine-2,4,6-triamine) is an organic substance and has been widely used in plastic industries. Currently, China is responsible for the largest the exportation of melamine in the world.

Some of the uses of melamine are:

• PVC production - It is combined to formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, which is used in PVC production.
• Due to its plastic properties, melamine can be transformed into melamine poly-sulfonate  and used for fabrication of high-resistance concrete.
• Melamine is used as a retardant for paints, plastics and paper products.
•  Because of its high nitrogen content, melamine was used as fertilizers
• Also because of its nitrogen content, melamine can misled tests that estimate protein levels by measuring nitrogen content. As a result, melamine is illegally added to food products such as milk to increase the protein content. 

Melamine is a toxic compound if inhaled, ingested or absorbed by skin. Chronic exposure to melamine can lead to many different kinds of cancer, respiratory disorders, and eyes irritation. The toxicity of this compound is demonstrated as having an oral LD₅₀ of 3248 mg/kg based on rat data.

(Source: Wikipedia)