- STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Two
of the eight euro coins due to come into circulation in January release
so much nickel that people allergic to the metal could develop hand eczema,
according to a study obtained by Reuters on Friday.
-
- Just five minutes of contact with one-euro (88 cents)
and two-euro coins containing nickel alloy could trigger symptoms,
including
skin inflammation or itching, the study by a Swedish dermatologist and
British laboratory scientist said.
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- Earlier studies which tested French, British and Swedish
coins containing nickel were also found to have the potential to cause
nickel allergies, it said.
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- Fifteen percent of all women and two to five percent
of men in the industrialized world are prone to nickel allergy.
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- In the study, two-euro coins were bathed for a week in
a solution resembling human sweat to imitate the effects of people handling
coins.
-
- The amount of nickel released from the euro coins was
up to 30 times above a level regarded by scientists as the concentration
threshold for reactivity to a single exposure.
-
- "Contamination of hands with nickel was shown to
occur by handling cupro-nickel coins for five minutes," the study
said.
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- Cupro-nickel is an alloy containing copper and
nickel.
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- The study, published earlier this year in the journal
Contact Dermatitis, was written by dermatologist Carola Liden at Sweden's
Karolinska Institute and Stephen Carter of Britain's Laboratory of the
Government Chemist in Middlesex.
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- "Whilst ordinary consumers handle coins infrequently
for short periods of time, many shop assistants and cashiers in shops,
banks and post offices handle coins during large parts of their
workday,"
it said.
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- Between 30 and 40 percent of nickel-sensitive people
tended to develop hand eczema, an inflammation of the skin which could
lead to sick leave or change of jobs.
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- EU scientists, environmentalists, dermatologists and
the nickel industry considered nickel allergy potential when the
composition
of the euro coins were decided, the study said.
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- Coins are exempt from the EU's nickel directive, which
limits the amount of nickel in products such as jewelry or watches that
come into direct contact with the skin.
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- The one- and two-euro coins have a potential nickel
release
up to 100 times greater than the EU directive's upper limit, the study
found.
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