Melamine is a safe product. People have been living and working with it for
more than four decades, and its toxicological properties and how it behaves in
the environment are well known.
Spillage accidents
No injuries are likely in the event of
spillage. Melamine has a very low acute toxicity. If it is inhaled or gets in
the eyes, it is only mildly irritating, and the irritation quickly subsides
when exposure ceases.
Occupational hazard
No harmful effects have been observed on
people working with or using melamine in all the time it has been on the
market, and given all we know about the product, none would be expected.
Contact with food
Its use in dinnerware is fully approved by
the US Food & Drug Administration.
Toxicity of melamine
A way to express the toxicity of a
chemical is the LD50 value, expressing a Lethal Dose when entering the
digestive system. For cats and dogs this value is 1250 milligram of melamine
per kilogram body mass. This value is in the same range as, for instance,
table salt and alcohol in wine and beer. For more detailed information, see
the Safety Data
Melamine is used in applications like laminate flooring, work-surfaces,
furniture, dinnerware and animal feeding bowls without incidents for decades.
These applications contain a bonded melamine-based polymer.
Even
direct or indirect oral contact with any of these products will not expose you
or your pet to melamine. These applications are therefore completely safe.
