# Melamine, should we worry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707 "2007-10-23T15:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lizziewriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@lizziewriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizziewriter)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/1 "2007-10-23T15:39:06Z")
I am wondering about melamine. Great stuff. Mr. Clean Magic Sponges, that clean anything, are made of it. Some kiddie plates and flatware are made from it. All sorts of stuff. It’s also what was turning up in pet food this past year, causing all those recalls and sick critters. Can the dust/detritus from Mr. Clean sponges get into the groundwater and environment and wreak havoc? Or should I spend my time worrying more about carbon nanotubes instead? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/2 "2007-10-24T03:21:41Z")
I wouldn’t mind learning more about the Mr. Clean magic erasers myself. Those things are great. If I learned they were made out of puppies and baby seals, I’d feel guilty, but I would still buy them. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/3 "2007-10-24T04:46:53Z")
IAMNA food scientist, but of course not. The melamine in the pet food was tossed in there to artificially increase the nitrogen content which is used as a metric to determine protein content. You should worry if you are eating the plates. This [article](http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-19-pet-food-usat_N.htm) mentions the nitrogen content, but not the protein measurement technology. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/4 "2007-10-24T04:54:15Z")
I know it’s not really the question, but I feel compelled to point out that you come into contact with loads of melamine every day. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance you’re touching some right now. I used to be a carpenter, and all of our cabinets were made out of melamine (term of art - in carpentry, “melamine” signifies particle board covered with melamine-saturated laminate). Go look in your kitchen cupboards. All of the shelves in there are melamine. The cabinet box --i.e. the sides, top and bottom – are probably melamine as well. Heck, if they’re cheap, the doors might be melamine. See your counters? If they’re not solid wood\*\*, they’re probably laminated with melamine. Have any furniture from Ikea? Yep - it’s all melamine. ETA: \*\*Or granite, or steel, or concrete, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![lizziewriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@lizziewriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizziewriter)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/5 "2007-10-24T14:06:03Z")
Yes, I know melamine is everywhere. It’s right up there among things I try not to think about, along with phthalates and electromagnetic radiation. Seriously, I think it’s not made from baby seals and ground up kittens, but from animal urine and formaldehyde. I think I read that last night but maybe it’s not made from that any more? I’m not worried about touching it (yet), and I know that the stuff was added to pet food as a pseudo-protein. There have been some interesting articles about that, as well as about prescription drug contamination, over the past year or so. But I am worried about what happens after the little crumbs rub off the Magic Eraser, go down the drain, and into… my septic system, or town sewers somewhere, and end up in the ground water or the Hudson River, or whatnot. Studies have already been done about the not-so-great effects of residual prescription drugs and other medications and vitamins, in effluvial wastewaters (did I get that expression right?). There is concern about nanoparticles in the environment. Magic Eraser sponges apparently work so well because the tough melamine is in a sort of foam, and it breaks off as it scrapes off the gunk or paint or whatnot on a very small scale. Then it washes down the drain… ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/6 "2007-10-24T17:59:20Z")
[Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070831.html) recently addressed the question of drug runoff into our sewer systems. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/7 "2007-10-24T22:12:00Z")
Ok melamine is a chemical that can be used to make all sorts of plastics, paints etc. It is reacted chemically to do so, which means it is unlikely to get out in one piece after that (though there may be trace residual unreacted portions). Also melamine is pretty nontoxic. It has the oral toxicity of table salt (e.g. you would need to eat 100s g to probably even get badly sick. They have feed dogs with the stuff for a year with only moderate effects (some kidney stones, mild blood abnormality). The trace amounts you are likley to ingest will not affect you at all. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/8 "2007-10-24T23:15:20Z")
I work with melamine in a factory that makes high pressure laminates, everything from dry erase boards to bowling alley lanes. We use tons of the stuff. It is a white powder that is really harmless. Here is the Wikipedia link : [MELAMINE](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine). It’s mixed with some really ugly things (formadehyde, methanol) and made into plastics. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/9 "2025-06-24T19:23:59Z")
Recent study indicates that the current usage of melamine sponges releases over a trillion bits of microplastics each month. Not since they began being used, but **each month.**. > **[Study Looks at Microplastics Released from Melamine Foam Sponges](https://www.happi.com/exclusives/study-looks-at-microplastics-released-from-melamine-foam-sponges/)** > > Authors calculated an estimate and have suggestions for makers of these handy household cleaners that have been on the market for more than two decades. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/10 "2025-06-24T19:30:57Z")
OK, and? All of the studies you see about microplastics just say how common they are, but I’ve never seen any with evidence that they actually cause health problems. And with how common they are, you’d think it would be easy to spot any health problems, if there were any. So why should we worry? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/11 "2025-06-24T19:48:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > All of the studies you see about microplastics just say how common they are, but I’ve never seen any with evidence that they actually cause health problems. And with how common they are, you’d think it would be easy to spot any health problems, if there were any. So why should we worry? Maxine Swee-Li Yee, Ling-Wei Hii, et al, “Impact of Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Human Health”, _Nanomaterials_ **2021** , _11_ (2), 496: > [_Several in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that micro- and nanoplastics were able to cause serious impacts on the human body, including physical stress and damage, apoptosis, necrosis, inflammation, oxidative stress and immune responses._](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7920297/#:~:text=Several%20in%20vitro%20and%20in%20vivo%20studies%20have%20shown%20that%20micro%2D%20and%20nanoplastics%20were%20able%20to%20cause%20serious%20impacts%20on%20the%20human%20body%2C%20including%20physical%20stress%20and%20damage%2C%20apoptosis%2C%20necrosis%2C%20inflammation%2C%20oxidative%20stress%20and%20immune%20responses) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/12 "2025-06-24T22:24:11Z")
What is the persistence of melamine? My understanding is that one of the issues of microplastics is their persistence. Non reactive materials also pose health hazards. Asbestos is a wonder material that is non reactive, strong, flexible etc. It also breaks down into tiny microfibers that are easily embedded in tissue and tends to form cists leading to malignancies. Largest factor in workplace related fatalities in many jurisdictions for decades. The [Canadian government identifies](https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/chemical-substances/fact-sheets/chemicals-glance/melamine.html) it as a possible carcinogen and notes that it is pesistent but not bioaccumlative. Ive cut and routered a lot of melamine panel and a fair amount of laminate countertop. Didn’t know thats what magic erasers were made of, pretty obvious they are in the plasticky polymer stuff category though. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/13 "2025-06-24T22:26:45Z")
Ann Reardon did a recent [video on micro plastics](https://youtu.be/ixwTfrhUOUA?si=zCbD3ru2YvqEj31W). She is a presenter, but a food scientist and I enjoy her as part of team rational navigating the sea of woo and scams. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/14 "2025-06-25T06:49:22Z")
Actually, the estimate is 4.9 trillion particles per month. With a mass of 6.5 million particles per gram. That’s around 754 kg per month. If somehow every single particle was eaten by humans and it was spread evenly across the world’s population, that would be 0.0001 gram per month per person. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/15 "2025-06-25T07:11:59Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > With a mass of 6.5 million particles per gram. I’m pretty sure that that number represents how many microplastic fibers per gram of sponge, not the weight of said fibers. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/16 "2025-06-25T07:17:04Z")
In what possible way could those two numbers not mean the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/17 "2025-06-25T07:21:37Z")
That’s fair. I still don’t understand the argument that we get 0.0001 gram per month per person from Magic Sponges and therefore microplastics are not a problem. We also get 0.0002 from that other thing over there, 0.005 from the other item, etc. Plenty of research is starting to show up that causes concern. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/18 "2025-06-25T20:14:53Z")
When my uncle got out of the US Marine Cops in the 1950s he brought home some melamine dinnerware. The Army and Marines were some of the earlier users of this unique dinnerware. Everything was a light green and had a USMC mark. Uncle Johnny said it was also used for missile nose cones. I thought it was the neatest stuff. No other dinnerware was like it at the time. Grandma also had thin aluminum drinking glasses in pastel colors, another product fallen by the wayside. The craziest thing he got was a car trunk load of USMC issued cigarettes. They were in very small packs, maybe 4 or 5 cigarettes. Mostly Lucky Strikes as I recall. He was going to make a fortune selling them to his buddies. But they had a flaw. They were so old and dry they were like tinder. When he lit one it burned like a fuse for about 10 seconds! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melamine-should-we-worry/423707/19 "2025-06-25T20:39:37Z")
Ahh. An Early Miltary decorating scheme. My Daddy had some metal side chairs, from some office on base. Those chairs are still being used. 3 are in my garage right now.