Determination of melamine and its derivatives in textiles and infant clothing purchased in the United States.

Melamine-based resins are used extensively in fabrics to impart fire and heat resistance as well as wrinkle-free properties. Little is known, however, regarding the occurrence of melamine and its derivatives in textiles. In this study, concentrations of melamine, ammeline, ammelide, and cyanuric acid were determined in 77 textile samples and infant clothing purchased from Albany, New York, USA. All textile samples contained one or more target analytes, at concentration ranges of 1.19-81,800, 3.21-17,800, <1.20-25,700, and <0.50-550 ng/g for melamine, cyanuric acid, ammeline, and ammelide, respectively. Melamine was the predominant compound, accounting for 52% of the total concentrations of four analytes (i.e., ∑melamines). Significant positive correlations were found between the concentrations of melamine and its three derivatives (0.347 < r < 0.862, p < .01). The concentrations of ∑melamines were significantly higher in cotton fabrics (mean: 10,500 ng/g) and cotton clothes (10,200 ng/g) than in synthetic fabrics (1,380 ng/g) and socks (40.0 ng/g) (p < .01). Simulated laundry experiments suggested that a single round of washing with water removed 76-90% of melamine from clothing. The calculated dermal exposure doses of melamine and cyanuric acid were three to four orders of magnitude below the reference value. This study provides the first evidence of the occurrence of melamine derivatives in textiles and clothing purchased in the United States. CAPSULE: Melamine and cyanuric acid are widely distributed in textiles and infant clothing collected from the United States.