Nearly all pregnant women are exposed to chemicals from plastics, cleaning products, clothing and other household items that scientists say may put them at a higher risk of cancer and harm their baby’s development.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, tested urine samples from 171 women and found that nearly all of the melamine and its byproduct cyanuric acid were present — which can come from jars, plastic, countertops and pesticides.
The vast majority were also exposed to aromatic amines commonly leached from clothing dyes and pigments in the environment.
dr. Tracey Woodruff, a gynecologist who led the study, said the presence of chemicals was a “serious concern,” adding to DailyMail.com that she feared they would have a greater impact if mixed together.
The chemicals are common, making it virtually impossible to avoid them, but Woodruff said exposure can be reduced by buying fewer fruits and vegetables wrapped in plastic.
There is no regular monitoring of these chemicals, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is safe to be exposed to melamine at less than 0.06 mg per mg per two pounds of body weight. The World Health Organization says it is safe up to 0.2 mg.
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco are concerned about chemicals in plastic, cleaning products, clothing and other household items that they say may increase the risk of cancer and harm children’s development
In the study – published today in the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere — Scientists recruited 171 pregnant women from a national survey.
They averaged about 29 years old and the majority were Hispanic (40 percent) or White (34 percent) from the United States.
About 68 percent were married or living with a partner, while 46 percent had at least a bachelor’s degree.
Each provided at least 14 urine samples from the pregnancy date of 2008 to the end of the study in 2020.
Results showed that 170 melamine was present in their samples, while all of the women had cyanuric acid.
Nearly all of the women also had three of the 13 aromatic amines studied in their urine samples. These were aniline, methylenedianiline and ortho/meta-toluidine.
But they were present in very low concentrations. The cyanuric acid was present at an average of 27 nanograms (ng) per ml, while the melamine was present at 1.6 ng/ml.
This was well below the WHO’s level of concern, at 0.2 mg for melamine – or 125,000 times lower.
But Tuffman told DailyMail.com that more research was needed on the industrially made chemicals.
She said: ‘These chemicals are of serious concern because of their links to cancer and developmental toxicity, but are not routinely monitored in the United States.
“One of the reasons we’re concerned is that multiple exposures to these chemicals and mixing them can carry higher risks.
‘The other is these poisoning incidents’ [such as in 2008 when six children died].’
“What we find is that almost all women had measurable levels of these chemicals. They may not pose a great risk, but they can be a significant risk… and they appear at a very critical point in development.”
She called for more funding to investigate the impact of the chemicals on humans, saying little work has been done so far.
There is particular concern about melamine after it was linked to the deaths of six babies in 2008.
It is widely used in plastics, which means it is already becoming ubiquitous as they break down into microplastics in the environment.
There are already concerns that the chemical is in high concentrations or placed in a microwave oven where it reacts with the waves. Health officials only say microwave pots marked “microwave safe.”
It was added to milk to increase its protein content, but eventually 300,000 became ill and developed several serious kidney problems. It is especially linked to the development of kidney stones.
The year before, there were more concerns when it was also added to pet food, leading to more than 100 animal deaths and 500 cases of kidney failure.
More work is needed to determine the risks of cyanuric acid – present in some pesticides and in swimming pools to make chlorine last longer – and aromatic amines.
Tuffman explained that the scientists decided to conduct the study after discovering that there was “basically no information” about the chemicals in national libraries, despite being ubiquitous.
They are now monitoring 5,000 pregnant women to see if they have also been exposed to the chemicals and in what amounts. The results are expected early next year.
She added: ‘This kind of research is so important to invest in because we need to understand all these chemicals that we use.
‘We have too little information about their health effects. It highlights how we need to know this as a priority before people get sick.’