Nov. 29, 2001 – Handling certain coins of the new European currency, the euro (€), could cause contact dermatitis on the hands of people with allergies to nickel, according to a study recently published in Contact Dermititis. Two of the eight coins that will be put into circulation on 1er January 2002 are involved: these are the 1 € and 2 € coins, the only ones that contain nickel.
For research purposes, coins of 1 € and 2 € were therefore immersed in a solution imitating human sweat in order to be able to measure the concentration of nickel released. After one week, the amount found (30µg / cm2) is 30 times higher than that considered by scientists to be the usual threshold for an allergic reaction.1
This study follows long debates on the materials to be used in the design of this new currency, the Nordic countries having fought to ban the nickel that France favored. An alloy of nickel and copper (cupronickel) was finally retained as a compromise for the two aforementioned parts. A European directive limits the amount of nickel allowed in certain products such as jewelry and watches. Generally, coins are not subject to this directive. They can even achieve a nickel release concentration 100 times greater than prescribed.
People with allergies working in stores, banks and post offices are most at risk because they have to handle money intensively. The treatment of contact eczema is essentially the elimination of contact with the allergen. With the new payment methods that develop, people sensitive to nickel will surely have a happier hand in a few years.
Élisabeth Mercader – PasseportSanté.net
According to Reuters Health, November 26, 2001
1. Liden C, Carter S. Nickel release from coins, Contact Dermatitis 2001 Mar; 44 (3): 160-5.