Nickel ingestion

Scheiner, D.M., S.A. Katz, and M.H. Samitz. 1976. Nickel levels in hair and nickel ingestion in guinea pigs. Environ. Res. 12 355-357. 

Ingestion Nickel ingestion causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, metallic taste and diarrhea. Ingestion of large doses may cause stomach and intestine ulceration, jaundice and kidney and liver damage ... 

Light-amber to yellow-red, oily fuming liquid with a suffocating, pungent, and nauseating odor. This material is hazardous through inhalation and ingestion, and produces local skin/eye impacts. It is noncorrosive to carbon steel and iron when dry. However, when wet it will attack steel, cast iron, aluminum, stainless steel, copper and copper alloys, and many nickel based materials. 

Inhaled nickel is at least 100 times more toxic than ingested nickel because it is more readily absorbed from the lungs than from the gastrointestinal tract, and death is more often the result of respiratory failure than of nervous system effects. For example, oral ingestion of 0.05 mg Ni/kg BW and inhalation at 0.005 Ni/m3 are equally effective threshold doses in rats (USPHS 1977). 

Accidental ingestion of nickel sulfate crystals (15-20 grams) by 2.5 year-old female child Death in 4 h of heart failure blood had 7.5 mg Ni/kg, urine 50 mg/L, and liver 25 mg Ni/kg FW 6, 8... 

From ingestion through water and nickel-contaminated fishery products Less than 13.4 pg total recoverable Ni/L 6... 

Nickel is found in air, soil, water, food, and household objects ingestion or inhalation of nickel is common, as is dermal exposure. Recent estimates suggest that as much as 28,100 tons of nickel are introduced into the atmosphere each year from natural sources and as much as 99,800 tons from human activities. In the atmosphere, nickel is mostly suspended onto particulate matter. In natural waters, the dominant chemical species is Ni2+ in the form of (Ni(H20)6)2+. In alkaline soils, the major components of the soil solution are Ni2+ and Ni(OH)+ in acidic soils, the main solution species are Ni2+, NiS04, and NiHP04. 

Inhalation and ingestion are the major routes of nickel intake in humans. 

A provocation of nickel eczema after oral ingestion of nickel has been reported [401, 402], Ingestion of 2.5 mg nickel as the sulphate aggravated chronic dermatitis in 17 of 28 patients [402]. When these patients were put on a low-nickel diet, 9 of them showed improvement. 

One human death following oral exposure to nickel was reported (Daldrup et al. 1983). Nickel sulfate crystals (rough estimate of 570 mg nickel/kg) were accidentally ingested by a 2-year-old child. Four hours after ingestion, cardiac arrest occurred, and the child died 8 hours after exposure. 

Serum nickel levels peaked 2.5-3 hours after ingestion of nickel sulfate (Christensen and Lagesson 1981 Sunderman et al. 1989b). In workers who accidentally ingested water contaminated with nickel sulfate and nickel chloride, the mean serum half-time of nickel was 60 hours (Sunderman et al. 1988). This half-time decreased substantially (27 hours) when the workers were treated intravenously with fluids. 

In animals, the majority of the ingested dose of nickel is excreted in the feces. One day after administration of nickel chloride in rats, 94-97% had been excreted in the feces and 3-6% had been excreted in the urine (Ho and Furst 1973). In dogs fed nickel sulfate in the diet for 2 years, only 1-3% of the ingested nickel was excreted in the urine (Ambrose et al. 1976). Because dogs lack a major... 

Cardiovascular Effects. A 2-year-old child died from cardiac arrest following accidental ingestion of nickel sulfate (Daldrup et al. 1983). No increases in numbers of deaths from cardiovascular diseases were reported in nickel workers (Cornell and Landis 1984 Cox et al. 1981 Cragle et al. 1984). 

Humans have been exposed to nickel in nickel mines and processing plants, and numerous epidemiology studies have been performed to assess the cause of death in these workers. Accidental ingestion of nickel also has been documented in a small child and in electroplating workers. Nickel dermatitis is the most prevalent effect of nickel in humans. 

Occupational exposure to nickel may occur by dermal contact or by inhalation of aerosols, dusts, fumes, or mists containing nickel. Dermal contact may also occur with nickel solutions, such as those used in electroplating, nickel salts, and nickel metal or alloys. Nickel-containing dust may be ingested where poor work practices exist or poor personal hygiene is practiced. A National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) conducted by NIOSH from 1981 to 1983 estimates that 727,240 workers are potentially exposed to some form of nickel metal, alloys, salts, or inorganic nickel compounds in the United States (NIOSH 1990). The form of nickel these workers were probably exposed to and the level of exposure for different industries and operations were reviewed by Warner (1984) and lARC (1990). 

Information on nickel exposure from hazardous waste sites is lacking. The most probable route of exposure from hazardous waste sites would be dermal contact, inhalation of dust, and ingestion of nickel-contaminated soil. Groundwater contamination may occur where the soil has a coarse texture and where acid waste, such as waste from plating industries, is discarded. People using this water may be exposed to high levels of nickel. 

Bioavailability from Environmental Media. The absorption and distribution of nickel as a result of inhalation, ingestion, and dermal exposure are discussed in Sections 2.3.1 and 2.3.2. Quantitative data relating the physical/chemical properties of nickel (e.g., particle size, chemical forms of nickel) with its bioavailability are available for inhaled nickel. In aqueous media, nickel is in the form of the hexahydrate ion, which is poorly absorbed by most living organisms (Sunderman and Oskarsson 1991). Additional studies which examine the absorption of nickel from soil would be useful. 

Hindsen M, Christensen OB, Moller B. 1994. Nickel levels in serum and urine in five different groups of eczema patients following oral ingestion of nickel. Acta Derm Venereol 74 176-178. 

Sunderman FW Jr, Dingle B, Hopfer SM, et al. 1988. Acute nickel toxicity in electroplating workers who accidently ingested a solution of nickel sulfate and nickel chloride. Am J Ind Med 14 257-266. 

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