Nickel and its compounds

Lethal nickel doses in mammals are usually derived from studies with laboratory animals injected with nickel and its compounds, not from realistic exposure regimens. 

Hughes, K., M.E. Meek, P.K.L. Chan, J. Shedden, S. Bartlett, and L.J. Seed. 1994. Nickel and its compounds evaluation of risks to health from environmental exposure in Canada. Jour. Environ. Sci. Health. Part C, Environ. Carcinogen. Ecotoxicol. Rev. 12 417-433. 

Sullivan, R. J. Preliminary Air Pollution Survey of Nickel and Its Compounds. A Literature Review. National Air Pollution Control Adminbtration Publication No. 69-41. Bethesda, Md. Litton Systems, Inc., 1%9. 69 pp. 

This public health statement tells you about nickel and its compounds and the effects of exposure. 

Most nickel is used to make stainless steel. Compounds of nickel combined with many other elements, including chlorine, sulfur, and oxygen, exist. Many of these compounds dissolve fairly easily in water and have a characteristic green color. Nickel and its compounds have no characteristic odor or taste. Nickel compounds are used for nickel plating, to color ceramics, to make some batteries, and as substances known as catalysts that increase the rate of chemical reactions. 

Nickel is also found in meteorites and on the ocean floor in lumps of minerals known as sea floor nodules. The earth s core contains large amounts of nickel. Nickel is released into the atmosphere during nickel mining and by industries that make alloys or nickel compounds or industries that use nickel and its compounds. These industries may also discharge nickel in waste water. Nickel is also released into the atmosphere by oil-burning power plants, coalburning power plants, and trash incinerators. 

See Chapters 3 and 4 of this profile for more information on the properties, sources, and uses of nickel and its compounds. 

Table 4-1 lists the facilities that produced, imported, processed, or used nickel and its compounds in 1993 according to reports made to the EPA under the requirements of Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, which were subsequently published in the Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) (TRI93 1995). Companies were required to report if they produced, imported, or processed 75,000 pounds of nickel and its compounds or used >10,000 pounds. Also included in Table 4-1 is the maximum amount of nickel and its compounds that these facilities had on site and whether nickel was produced, processed, or used by the facility. 

Nickel and its compounds have been designated as toxic pollutants by EPA pursuant to Section 307(a)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (40 CFR 401.15). As such, permits are issued by the states under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for discharges of nickel that meet the applicable requirements (40 CFR 401.12). 

Table 5-1 lists the air releases from facilities in the United States that produce, process, or use nickel and its compounds, according to the 1993 TRI (TRI93 1995). These releases, totaling 285,857 pounds (129,935 kg), constitute 37.5% of the environmental releases reported in the TRI. However, since the TRI does not include emissions from power plants and refuse and sludge incinerators, its estimate of U.S. nickel emissions is incomplete. 

Physical and Chemical Properties. Except for differences between black and green nickel oxide, the physical and chemical properties of nickel and its compounds reported in Table 3-2 (HSDB 1996) have been adequately characterized. 

Production, Import/Export, Use, and Release and Disposal. Information on the production, import, export, and use of nickel metal and nickel alloys is readily available (Chamberlain 1985 Kirk 1988a, 1988b NTD 1996 Tien and Howson 1981). However, information on the production, import, and use patterns of other nickel compounds is not generally available and is needed to assess human exposure to these compounds. Except for recycling of metal scrap, little information is available regarding the disposal of nickel and its compounds. 

Nickel and its compounds. Government of Canada, Environment Canada, Health Canada, 1-82. 

A recent review by Hausinger (29) deals with nickel utilization by microorganisms. In addition to known effects of nickel deficiencies, nickel and its compounds are known to have toxic and carcinogenic effects. The reader is referred to recent proceedings (30a, 30b). 

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