melamine
Laminate surface material
Melamine is a synthetic resin used to make hard, durable plastics and laminates.
Melamine dinnerware—plates, bowls, cups—is lightweight and nearly unbreakable, popular for outdoor dining and children's tableware.
Melamine-formaldehyde resins create the hard surface of laminate countertops and whiteboards.
The compound gained notoriety in 2008 when Chinese manufacturers illegally added it to milk and infant formula to inflate apparent protein content, causing widespread illness.
Hardens permanently when heated
- formaldehydeColorless pungent preservative gas
- polymerizationMonomers bonding into chains
- cross-linkingBonds joining parallel chains
- curingRestoring health or preserving
monomer · condensation · molding · catalyst · composite · matrix · coating · adhesive
Introduction of impurities
- adulterationCorrupting by foreign substances
- ChinaEast Asian superpower
- recallMemory retrieval act
- toxicityCapacity to cause harm
kidney · testing · regulation · FDA · detection · import · food-safety · standards
Vessels for serving meals
- platesFlat eating dishes
- bowlsDeep rounded containers
- cupsSmall drinking containers
- picnicwareOutdoor dining equipment
unbreakable · lightweight · camping · outdoor · cafeteria · children's · colorful · stackable
Flat kitchen work surface
- FormicaWood ant genus
- veneerDecorative outer layer
- overlayCovering placed atop
- surfaceOutermost boundary layer
decorative · finish · particleboard · MDF · plywood · bonding · pressing · woodgrain
Removing dirt and mess
- abrasiveRough enough to erode
- soundproofingPreventing noise transmission
- acousticRelating to sound
- insulationThermal transfer prevention
white · sponge · scuff · walls · thermal · lightweight · porous · absorption
thermosetting
Hardens permanently when heated
- formaldehydeColorless pungent preservative gas
- polymerizationMonomers bonding into chains
- cross-linkingBonds joining parallel chains
curing · monomer · condensation · molding · catalyst · composite · matrix · coating · adhesive · binder
contamination
Introduction of impurities
- adulterationCorrupting by foreign substances
- ChinaEast Asian superpower
- recallMemory retrieval act
toxicity · kidney · testing · regulation · FDA · detection · import · food-safety · standards · banned
dinnerware
Vessels for serving meals
picnicware · unbreakable · lightweight · camping · outdoor · cafeteria · children's · colorful · stackable · dishwasher-safe
countertop
Flat kitchen work surface
surface · decorative · finish · particleboard · MDF · plywood · bonding · pressing · woodgrain · glossy
cleaning
Removing dirt and mess
- abrasiveRough enough to erode
- soundproofingPreventing noise transmission
- acousticRelating to sound
insulation · white · sponge · scuff · walls · thermal · lightweight · porous · absorption · panels
- plastic materialsvinyl, acrylic, resin, vinyl flooring, plexiglass
- triazines
- plasticsplastics, plastic, polymers, polymer, polyethylene
- coatingspaint, enamel, varnish, primer, glaze
- food adulterationdilution, watering down, cutting, tampering, doctoring
- food hazardspathogens, toxins, parasites, viruses, bacteria