NEW YORK: According to a recent study, pregnant women who are exposed to substances like melamine, cyanuric acid, and aromatic amines may be at higher risk for developing cancer.

Aromatic amines are present in hair dye, mascara, tattoo ink, paint, tobacco smoke, and diesel exhaust. Melamine is present in dishware, plastics, flooring, kitchen counters, and pesticides. Cyanuric acid is used as a disinfectant, plastic stabiliser, and cleaning solvent in swimming pools.

Nearly all research participants' samples included melamine and cyanuric acid, according to the study, which was published in the Chemosphere, although women of colour and those who had more smoke exposure had the highest concentrations.

Due to their associations with cancer and developmental toxicity, these chemicals are of great concern, but they are not routinely monitored in the US, according to researcher Tracey J. Woodruff from the University of California, San Francisco.
People can come into contact with melamine and aromatic amines in a number of ways, including by breathing contaminated air, eating tainted food, inhaling household dust, drinking tainted water, or using products that contain plastic, dyes, or pigments.

Melamine and cyanuric acid, one of its main byproducts, are both high-production compounds that are produced at a rate of more than 100 million pounds annually in this country alone. These substances may be more harmful when exposed combined than if either one is present alone.

For their study, the team measured 45 chemicals associated with cancer and other risks using new methods to capture chemicals or chemical traces in urine samples from a small but diverse group of 171 women.

The study's time frame was from 2008 through 2020. In the past, studies on melamine were either restricted to non-pregnant people in the US or pregnant women in Asian countries.

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