Valsartan Cancer and NDMA

What is NDMA, the substance found to have contaminated many forms of valsartan?

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), N-Nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, is a “contaminant” that “forms in both industrial and natural processes.” Although NDMA presently is not commercially produced in its pure form in the United States, it previously has been used in the production of such wide-ranging products as “liquid rocket fuel, antioxidants, additives for lubricants, and softeners for copolymers.”

Nowadays, except for research purposes, NDMA no longer is produced for its own sake, but instead is formed as a byproduct of chemical reactions used in various industrial processes. An EPA list of potential NDMA sources in the modern world implicates a variety of large global industries, including “amine manufacturing plants, tanneries, pesticide manufacturing plants, rubber and tire manufacturers, fish processing facilities, foundries, dye manufacturers, and surfactant industries.” NDMA can even result from certain water-purification techniques that use chloramines to disinfect wastewater.

Once introduced into the environment, NDMA is incredibly pervasive, with NDMA contamination having been identified in the air, water, and soil. In humans, exposure primarily takes place through the oral consumption of contaminated food and beverages. the EPA warns that certain everyday items may contain NDMA, increasing the risk of human exposure.