Nickel health effects

Chashschin, V.P., G.P. Artunina, and T. Norseth. 1994. Congenital defects, abortion and other health effects in nickel refinery workers. Sci. Total Environ. 148 287-291. 

The most common adverse health effect of nickel in humans is an allergic reaction to nickel. People can become sensitive to nickel when jewelry or other things containing nickel are in direct contact with the skin. Wearing earrings containing nickel in pierced ears may also sensitize people to nickel. Once a person is sensitized to nickel, further contact with the metal will produce a reaction. The most common reaction is a skin rash at the site of contact. In... 

See Chapter 2 for more information on the health effects of nickel exposure. 

Measurements of the amount of nickel in your blood, feces, and urine can be used to estimate your exposure to nickel. More nickel was found in the urine of workers who were exposed to nickel compounds that dissolve easily in water (soluble) than in the urine of workers exposed to compounds that are hard to dissolve (less-soluble). This means that it is easier to tell if you have been exposed to soluble compounds than less-soluble compounds. The nickel measurements do not accurately predict potential health effects from exposure to nickel. More information on medical tests can be found in Chapters 2 and 6. 

Estimates of exposure levels posing minimal risk to humans (Minimal Risk Levels or MRLs) have been made for nickel. An MRL is defined as an estimate of daily human exposure to a substance that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of adverse effects (noncarcinogenic) over a specified duration of exposure. MRLs are derived when reliable and sufficient data exist to identify the target organ(s) of effect or the most sensitive health effect(s) for a specific duration within a given route of exposure. 

Section 104(i)(5) of CERCLA, as amended, directs the Administrator of ATSDR (in consultation with the Administrator of EPA and agencies and programs of the Public Health Service) to assess whether adequate information on the health effects of nickel is available. Where adequate information is not available, ATSDR, in conjunction with the National Toxicology Program (NTP), is required to assure the initiation of a program of research designed to determine the health effects (and techniques for developing methods to determine such health effects) of nickel. 

The Nickel Producers Environmental Research Association (NiPERA) is sponsoring research to develop toxicokinetic models to be used to predict health effects in humans and is comparing the toxicokinetic properties of nickel in various animal species. 

Miller, A.C., Xu, J., Stewart, M., Prasanna, P.G., Page, N. (2002c). Potential late health effects of depleted uranium and tungsten used in armor-piercing munitions comparison of neoplastic transformation and genotoxicity with the known carcinogen nickel. Mil. Med. 167 120-2. 

The objective of this chapter is to put into perspective some of the current knowledge with respect to trace metals and their health implications. Potential adverse health effects of occupational exposures to trace metals are dis cussed cancer (arsenic, beryllium chromium nickel, and perhaps cadmium) chronic lung disease (beryllium and cadmium) neurologic and reproductive disorders (lead and mercury) and kidney disorders (lead and cadmium). Also discussed are the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended standards for occupational exposure to several trace metals, the difficulty of establishing safe levels of exposure (particularly for carcinogens), and problems involved in identifying toxic components of trade name products. Special attention is given to the role of chemists to help protect the public health. 

More than 15 additional trace elements are considered by some investigators to have a potentially important role in human medicine. A review by Nielsen considers these in detail and discusses emerging concepts of essentiality. For some such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, and nickel, the clinical laboratory will primarily consider them as toxic elements (see Chapter 35). Others, such as lithium and fluoride, are classified as pharmacologically beneficial and monitoring of dosage may be required. Some elements can be considered nutritionally beneficial and are reported to produce restorative health effects at lower dosages. Evidence comes mainly from animal studies when dietary depletion of the element is combined with other metabohc, hormonal, or physiological stressors. ... 

Patients undergoing dialysis are exposed to Ni and accumulate Ni in blood and other organs. There appear to be no adverse health effects from this exposure.Nickel is quantified by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. 

Other airborne irritants, as well as ore dust and diesel exhaust, may act synergistically with radon and radon daughters to increase the incidence of adverse health effects. Epidemiological studies report the presence of other airborne irritants in mining environments, including arsenic, hexavalent chromium, nickel, cobalt (Sevc et al. 1984), serpentine (Radford and Renard 1984), iron ore dust (Damber and Larsson 1982 Ediing and Axelson 1983 Radford and Renard 1984), and diesel exhaust (Damber and Larsson 1982 Sevc et al. 1984). 

Nickel is an essential micronutrient for maintaining health in certain species of plants and animals. Nickel deficiency effects from dietary deprivation of nickel has been induced experimentally in many species of birds... 

Sources Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Huoride (1997) Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin 85, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline (1998) EHetary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids (2000) Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc (2001) Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate (2005) and EHetary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D (2011). These reports may be accessed via www.nap.edu A Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the highest level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects to almost all individuals in the general population. Unless otherwise specified, the UL represents total intake from food, water, and supplements. Due to a lack of suitable data, ULs could not be established for vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, biotin, and carotenoids. In the absence of a UL, extra caution may be warranted in consuming levels above recommended intakes. Members of the general population should be advised not to routinely exceed the UL. The UL is not meant to ply to individuals who are treated with the nutrient under medical supervision or to individuals with predisposing conditions that modify their sensitivity to the nutrient... 

The major health effect of nickel and its compounds is contact allergy and allergic contact dermatitis as a result of skin exposure to nickel ions, Ni(II). Inhalation exposure to soluble nickel and nickel oxides/sulfides has caused nasal and pulmonary cancer in workers in nickel refineries although there are no convincing data on carcinogenicity for metallic nickel dust in humans. Exposure to nickel or nickel compounds via routes other than inhalation has not been shown to increase the cancer risk in humans (Aitio 1995). Inhalation of nickel compounds may induce asthma however, nickel-induced asthma is rare. 

Other metalhc air contaminants may include aluminum, beryllium, cadmium, lead, and nickel. The health effects of some of these metals have been discussed previously. 

Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, nickel copper and cadmium have been proven to cause serious health effects on human [1], Mercury had been widely used in many fields, such as medical, scientific research applications, and in amalgam material for dental restoration. It is used in lighting electricity passed through mercury vapor in a phosphor tube produces short-wave ultraviolet light which then causes the phosphor to fluoresce, making visible light. 

It is good practice to keep concentrations of airborne nickel in any chemical form as low as possible and certainly below the relevant standard. Local exhaust ventilation is the preferred method, particularly for powders, but personal respirator protection may be employed where necessary. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) personal exposure limit (PEL) for all forms of nickel except nickel carbonyl is 1 mg/m. The ACGIH TLVs are respectively 1 mg/m for Ni metal, insoluble compounds, and fume and dust from nickel sulfide roasting, and 0.1 mg/m for soluble nickel compounds. The ACGIH is considering whether to lower the TLVs for all forms of nickel to 0.05 mg/m, based on nonmalignant respiratory effects in experimental animals. 

---