Melamine Scare

Melamine
By way of definition, melamine is a type of organic compound with a formula of C3 H6 N6 (figure 1). Melamine looks like a white powder. Melamine has an outstanding melting point of 618 K. It was created by the mixture of urea with formaldehyde to produce a hard resin. The resin is versatile, durable, and fire retardant. It was initially discovered by William F. Talbot.
Melamine is made with calcium carbide, CaC2. That is,
CaC2 + N2 (1050˚C) = CaNC*triplebond*N + C Calcium cyanamide
CaNCN + H2 O ===> H2 N-C*triplebond*N + Ca(OH)2 Cyanamide
2 H2 N-C*triplebond*N ===> H2 N-C-NH-C*triplebond*N Dicyandiamide
                                                       ||
                                                     NH
Dicyandiamide + NH3 ===> Melamine
Figure 1: Chemical structure of melamine
 


















Uses of melamine

Melamine can be used to create tiles. Due to it’s whiteboard and a variety of kitchen items. laminates, glues, dinnerware, adhesives, molding compounds,
Melamine has many usage due to its combination with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin. It is a hard plastic that is used in kitchen utensils. It is also used to make construction materials. For example, the commonly known Formica.  It can also be used to make furniture making such as fabrics such as decorative paper and fabrics.
 

Figure 2: Melamine dinnerware








Why melamine is dangerous?


Melamine can easily mistaken as amino acid. This is because, amino acids contains an amine group, NH2 , that found in protein and hence it was called amino acid. Melamine also contains the amine group NH2. It also contains three of these amine group as same as amino acid. Melamine also can increase the content of nitrogen to make it appear as if a product has protein in it. This is why melamine can easily mistake as amino acid. The NH2 make the protein appear higher in food than it really is.
When a person eat something that containing melamine, a portion of it is eliminated another portion of it joins in a chemical reaction inside the body where is changed to some other chemical compound. These ‘other compounds’ are chemicals such as cyanuric acid, ammeline, and ammelide. None of these chemicals are supposed to be in the human body. These chemicals can enter the human body by ingesting along with melamine or the melamine can consequently convert to these compounds after it is ingested.
Cyanuric acid, ammeline, and ammelide is melamine connected compound. These compounds are commonly found in the laboratory production of melamine. Cyanuric acid is most normally used as a chlorine stabilizer in swimming pools.
It can also cause urinary and digestive problems. Some researchers from the national University of  Singapore states that melamine is dangerous to the human kidneys. Melamine can cause problems of the urinary tract. The combinatoin of cyanuric acid and melamine crystalizes in the kidneys, causing kidney stones to be formed. The crystals block the tubules in the kidneys, leading to kidney failure. This is, in fact, the mechanism that causes death.

Controversies regarding melamine


Producers and consumers have been alerted that hundreds of tonnes of milk powder produced in China and used as an ingredient in the manufacture of baby milk formulas, but also as an ingredient in various food products for humans or animals contained melamine, added to falsifying chemical protein content from milk . Thus,  producers get a "quality"commodity, without costs and their profits were high.
Six people died and more than 300,000 needed hospital treatment after poisoning with melamine. Physio-chemical characteristics of melamine  fostering the enter in the urinary system, causing obstruction and preventing the proper disposal of urine, experts explained. Thus, not only urine is not removed properly from the body, nor blood flow within the kidney is not in normal parameters.
In March 2007, the discovery that pet food was causing kidney disease and death in dogs and cats across North America led to the largest pet food recall in U.S. history. Melamine and cyanuric acid, had been added to grain products in China to fraudulently increase their apparent protein content, making them appear to be gluten. The products were sold as gluten to U.S. and Canadian pet food manufacturers.
This sad incident proves that melamine is still lurking in Chinese products not intended to contain melamine. Many pet food ingredients are imported from known safe countries such as Canada and New Zealand, many other ingredients are imported from known at risk countries like China.

1 comment:

  1. Melamine is a type of organic compound .It has an outstanding melting point .It is also used to make construction materials. Melamine Resin Manufacturers

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