Nickel poisoning

Category: Illness or disabilities

Type

Involuntary

Introduction and description

Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous, hard ductile metal with a slight golden tinge. The element's name comes from a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology, Nickel, although it might be better termed a goblin, given its action.

Native nickel is rarely found on Earth's surface, being mostly confined to the interiors of larger nickel–iron meteorites, in other words early man was never exposed to nickel.  But it is found in the earth’s crust.   In order of abundance in the earth's crust, nickel ranks as the 24th element and it has been extracted and used in numerous manufactured products.  Nickel is a useful metal, particularly in various alloys, in batteries and in nickel-plating. Nickel compounds are used especially as catalysts and pigments. Thus, we are being constantly exposed to this ubiquitous element, which makes it even more alarming when one realises how toxic nickel is.  Like lead, the body has no use for nickel and it appears that nickel is extremely toxic to the body. 

Many people are now aware of the dermatological problems caused by nickel.  But this is not the main problem.  The main problem with this metal is that it seems that once ingested or inhaled, the body finds it extremely difficult to get rid of it and thus it accumulates in body tissues and the bones until at some point we notice it because it is doing very real harm.  Occupational exposures can lead to the retention of 100 micrograms of nickel per day. But this metal gets everywhere, as we will see when we look at the sources.

Symptoms

Non-essential elements such as uranium, thallium, nickel, and aluminium, are strongly competitive with essential elements (Ca, Mg, Zn, Se, Mn, Co, Cr, and Mo)  in biochemical processes. [PMID: 25837556]  In other words all these heavy metals completely disrupt bodily systems.  We could call this mineral imbalance, but it would be to rather miss the point, the entire metabolism of the body is disrupted.  But if this was not enough, Nickel in particular causes the following:

Skin diseases

Dermatitis, eczema and a number of other skin diseases can be caused by nickel contact.  Jewellery, particularly ear rings are by now a known risk:

Nickel is also in some monetary coins, alarmingly it is also present in some cosmetics, including lipstick, running the risk of ingestion as well:

The EU has actually issued a directive whose aim is to reduce nickel exposure, but the problem is often in identifying which products have nickel in them:

Stomach and intestinal problems

Nickel exposure can come via contaminated food, in other words via ingestion, the symptoms in this case can induce diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and swelling. [PMID: 20204548]

Diabetes

Heart disease and atherosclerosis

Reproductive system failure

Nickel adversely affects the male reproductive system.

And the female reproductive system

Bone diseases

Nickel can also migrate to bone and may be a contributor to such bone related diseases as rheumatoid arthritis.  In this study the researchers used autopsy tissue from people who had died from heavy metal poisoning

Epilepsy

Nickel poisoning can produce epileptic seizures

Birth defects and gene mutation

Exposure to nickel has produced congenital birth defects.  For example, Nickel(II) chloride (or just nickel chloride), is the chemical compound NiCl2. Nickel chloride solutions are also used for electroplating nickel onto other metal items.  Nickel salts are carcinogenic and cause congenital birth defects.  The following describes the effects on chickens

In one systematic review of Nickel exposure during pregnancy and the impact on child outcomes. [PMID: 26571332], the authors found papers that showed an association between Nickel and

• small for gestational age
• low birth weight
• neural tube defects
• structural birth defects
• and autism spectrum disorder

Nickel has also produced DNA damage to babies:

Cancers, tumours and fibromas

Nickel does not appear to be very discriminatory as to which organs it attacks.  This example is about bladder cancer, but as you will see in the other papers, lung cancer, and kidney cancer can be caused by nickel

And

Lung failure, kidney failure and other organ failure

Death

 

Causes/Sources of nickel

Nanoparticles

As you will see from the examples above and those below, nanoparticles of nickel are not just toxic they kill people regularly and remarkably quickly.  Nickel nanoparticles are not eliminated from the body, in fact the body appears to have no way of dealing with nanoparticles of this metal.  And often it is so devastatingly quick acting that the damage done is rapid and fatal.

The nanoparticles can affect every organ in the body and also affect the fetus.  If the fetus survives, then it is likely to have congenital abnormalities.  Furthermore nanoparticles can be inhaled ingested and are easily absorbed through the skin.

The production of nickel nanoparticles for whatever reason is tantamount to manslaughter.

Food contamination

In the observations you will find Dr Duke’s list of Plants that he has found contain Nickel.  How should we interpret this?

All these plants are able to take up nickel from the soil.  This means they could be used as chelating agents – plants that clean polluted soils – as long of course as we ditched the plants in a very deep hole and buried them afterwards, but the other implication is that they are, as a consequence, a risk in areas where pollution has taken place.

If you know you are in a polluted area or receiving fruit and vegetables from a polluted area, then from this list you are able to see which fruit and vegetables to AVOID. 

Vegetables usually contain more nickel than do other food items; high levels have been found in legumes, spinach, lettuce and nuts. Certain products, such as baking powder and cocoa powder, have been found to contain excessive amounts of nickel as a consequence of nickel leaching during some flawed manufacturing processes.

But additional concern arises from the pollution of rivers, the sea and grazing land and whether bioaccumulation has occurred, for example, the freshwater fish being tested here is eaten:

Pharmaceuticals

Mining

Mining operations are inevitable a source of nickel poisoning, as the miners breathe the dust from ores.  Major production sites include the Sudbury region in Canada (which is thought to be of meteoric origin), New Caledonia in the Pacific, the Merensky Reef, South Africa and Norilsk in Russia.  Australia and New Caledonia have the biggest estimate reserves (45% all together).  The largest deposits of nickel in non-Russian Europe are located in Finland and Greece. In addition, extensive deep-sea resources of nickel are in manganese crusts and nodules covering large areas of the ocean floor, particularly in the Pacific Ocean.  The one locality in the United States where nickel was commercially mined is Riddle, Oregon. The mine closed in 1987. The Eagle mine project is a new nickel mine in Michigan's upper peninsula.

Coins

Nickel has been a component of coins since the mid-19th century. Coins still made with nickel alloys include one- and two- Euro coins, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢ and 50¢ U.S. coins and 20p, 50p, £1 and £2 UK coins. The replacement of nickel-alloy 5p and 10p UK coins with nickel-plated steel models, begun in 2012, “has caused dermatological controversy”.

Steel making

Native nickel is rarely found on Earth's surface, being mostly confined to the interiors of larger nickel–iron meteorites that were protected from oxidation during their time in space. On Earth, such native nickel is found in combination with iron.  An iron–nickel mixture is thought to compose Earth's inner core.  Thus much iron processing will involve exposure to nickel.  An economically important source of nickel is the iron ore limonite, which often contains 1-2% nickel. Nickel, however, is also valuable in the modern world for the alloys it forms; about 60% of world production is used in nickel-steels (particularly stainless steel).

Water contamination

In areas of high pollution, particulates can simply fall on reservoirs and sources of drinking water, polluting the source, but drinking-water and acid beverages can dissolve nickel from pipes and containers. Leaching or corrosion processes can contribute significantly to the oral nickel intake, occasionally up to 1 mg/day. Scattered studies indicate a highly variable dietary intake of nickel, but in any polluted area the average can be around 200-300 micrograms/day.

Nickel refining and purification; petroleum, plastic, and rubber production

Nickel carbonyl [Ni(CO)4], is formed when metallic nickel combines with carbon monoxide.  It is thus both a toxin and a heavy metal accidental by-product of, for example, car or lorry exhaust fumes.   It is used in the refining process of nickel and as a catalyst in petroleum, plastic, and rubber production. Purification of nickel oxides to obtain the purest metal is performed via the Mond process, which increases the nickel concentrate to greater than 99.99% purity. In the process, nickel is reacted with carbon monoxide at around 40–80 °C to form nickel carbonyl in the presence of a sulfur catalyst.

Nickel carbonyl is considered to be one of the most toxic chemicals used industrially and the magnitude of its morbidity and mortality has been compared to that of hydrogen cyanide.

and

Waste processing

Inhaled nickel carbonyl is rapidly absorbed and distributed mainly to the lungs, brain, adrenal glands, and kidneys. In severe cases, acute nickel carbonyl exposure causes death.  There has also been exposure in waste processing workers:

Electroplating

Because of nickel's slow rate of oxidation at room temperature, it is considered corrosion-resistant. Historically, this has led to its use for plating metals such as iron and brass, coating chemistry equipment, and manufacturing certain alloys that retain a high silvery polish, such as German silver. About 6% of world nickel production is still used for corrosion-resistant pure-nickel plating. Nickel-plated items are noted for provoking nickel allergy.

Nickel(II) sulfate, or just nickel sulfate, is an inorganic compound with the formula NiSO4(H2O)6. This highly soluble blue-coloured salt is a common source of the Ni2+ ion for electroplating.  Approximately 40,000 tonnes were produced in 2005. It is mainly used for electroplating of nickel.  In 2005–06, nickel sulfate was the top allergen in patch tests (19.0%).  It would also appear that it damages hearts:

Welding

Many of the metals used in welding are excreted by the body in the urine, in effect, the body is able to handle metals such as chromium.  But it appears as though nickel is absorbed – it is not excreted:

From the symptoms explained above it appears that inhaled nickel is deposited in the liver and kidneys, lungs and other organs and there it stays, causing many cases of organ failure and cancer later on.

Prostheses

A prosthesis (plural: prostheses) is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trauma, disease, or congenital conditions.  Unfortunately and very sadly those made of nickel can cause tumours and cancers

And

Dental braces and equipment

Both dental equipment and a number of appliances used on patients have nickel in them [Dental metal-induced innate reactivity in keratinocytes. Rachmawati D, Buskermolen JK, Scheper RJ, Gibbs S, von Blomberg BM, van Hoogstraten IM. Toxicol In Vitro. 2015 Dec 25;30(1 Pt B):325-30. doi: 10.1016/j.tiv.2015.10.003. Epub 2015 Oct 9. PMID: 26456670].

A common presentation of intraoral contact dermatitis is the presence of lichenoid plaques on the buccal mucosa adjacent to the offending antigen. This paper describes a case of cutaneous and mucosal nickel allergy arising after placement of dental braces.

Cigarettes

Dr Duke’s analysis of plants that contain nickel, does not mention tobacco, but it is clear from the research papers that some cigarettes do contain nickel.  Where does it come from?

I believe it might have been better to say some tobacco plants in the sentence above, because it is clear that tobacco grown on unpolluted soils and without heavy chemical use is nickel free – organic cigarettes!

Waste incinerators

Batteries contain both nickel and cadmium and both pose a hazard, as such those involved in the manufacture of these batteries is at risk.  There is however another risk.  There has been a move in a number of cities to incinerate waste from households.  Many hospitals ironically also incinerate waste.  The smoke and fumes from these incinerations is theoretically ‘scrubbed’ however it is clear from papers that this scrubbing is not always effective.  The chimneys from these incineration plants are often high, meaning the toxic fumes can spread far and wide contaminating the soil and water supplies of areas many miles from the plant itself.  For example

And

Hospitals

Hospitals are major sources of nickel pollution.  Nickel is released by incinerators which are used for medical waste, but much medical equipment is made from alloys of nickel or electroplated nickel.

There is even evidence of contamination of intravenous fluids [Potential toxicity from nickel contamination of intravenous fluids. -Sunderman FW Jr.  Ann Clin Lab Sci. 1983 Jan-Feb;13(1):1-4. PMID: 6340593]

Children’s toys

Cosmetics, hair dyes and tattoo inks

Nickel has been found in lipsticks, eye make-up and face powder, along with other cosmetics and usually leads to skin problems, although lipstick if ingested may lead to other problems [Safety evaluation of traces of nickel and chrome in cosmetics: -Ma'or Z, Halicz L, Portugal-Cohen M, Russo MZ, Robino F, Vanhaecke T, Rogiers V. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2015 Dec;73(3):797-801. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2015.10.016. Epub 2015 Oct 22. PMID: 26496819 ]

And

And

Spectacles

Artisanal mining

‘Artisanal mining’ is the recycling of electronic waste through open incineration in order to recover reusable metals.  The sorts of electronic items that are put through this process include old cellphones, batteries, circuit boards, plastics and screens. The components are shredded, sieved and incinerated at 743-818 °C and the metals then recovered and reused.

Biological sources

Although not recognized until the 1970s, nickel plays important roles in the biology of microorganisms and plants.  The increased and more virulent pathogenic activity of certain organisms may be due to the presence of heavy metals such as Nickel.

• Ureases are found in numerous bacteria, fungi, algae, plants and some invertebrates, as well as in soils, as a soil enzyme. They are nickel-containing metalloenzymes of high molecular weight.
• Hydrogenases generate energy from hydrogen and can thus operate in anaerobic environments.  Hydrogenases proficient in H2 uptake can help heavy metal contaminants to be recovered. These uptake hydrogenases have been recently discovered in pathogenic bacteria and parasites and are believed to be involved in their virulence.  The NiFe-hydrogenases contain nickel
• Cofactor F430 - is a  nickel-tetrapyrrole coenzyme and is present in the methyl coenzyme M reductase, which powers methanogenic archaea.
• Other nickel-containing enzymes include a rare class found in bacteria and several parasitic eukaryotic trypanosomal parasites

It appears that our continued release of heavy metals has helped the pathogens [particularly some bacteria] that cause disease to thrive:

Nickel can thus have an impact on human health through infectious diseases arising from nickel-dependent bacteria, parasites etc. Nickel released from Siberian Traps volcanic eruptions (site of the modern city of Norilsk) is suspected of having had a significant impact on the role played by Methanosarcina, a genus of euryarchaeote archaea that produced methane during the biggest extinction event on record.

Diagnosis

Urine tests - are largely ineffective in testing for nickel, as the principle problem is that it is not excreted, which is why it does so much damage.  If it is so high it is detectable, the poisoning is extremely severe and could easily be fatal.

Patch tests - Where nickel is the cause of allergic contact dermatitis, it can be diagnosed by an epicutaneous patch test.

Mucosa patch tests - The following study employed another method to identify the problems caused by nickel ingestion

Blood tests – can identify the presence of nickel in the blood stream, but of course once it has settled in an organ it will not be detectable, except via more intrusive methods.

Treatment

The standard treatment for nickel poisoning is chelation therapy, the following is an older paper [1991] but is still largely valid today – only trained medical personnel can administer this strength of agent. 

There is a treatment called the “Low nickel diet”, which is intended to help people with persistent dermatitis.  The aim is to reduce nickel intake in food.

 

References and further reading

• Am J Emerg Med. 1993 Jan;11(1):64-6. Acute nickel carbonyl poisoning. Kurta DL1, Dean BS, Krenzelok EP. 1Pittsburgh Poison Center Children's Hospital, Pittsburgh 15213.
• Secondary poisoning risk assessment of terrestrial birds and mammals exposed to nickel. DeForest DK, Schlekat CE, Brix KV, Fairbrother A. Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2012 Jan;8(1):107-19. doi: 10.1002/ieam.248. Epub 2011 Aug 24. PMID: 21793198
• Nickel poisoning. III. Procedures for detection, prevention, and treatment of nickel carbonyl exposure including a method for the determination of nickel in biologic materials. KINCAID JF, STANLEY EL, BECKWORTH CH, SUNDERMAN FW. Am J Clin Pathol. 1956 Feb;26(2):107-19. PMID: 13292397
• [Cases of nickel carbonyl acute poisoning at major petrochemical enterprises]. Valeeva ET, Galimova RR, Karimova LK, Muldashova NA. Med Tr Prom Ekol. 2009;(11):17-9. Russian.  PMID: 20095408
• Nickel carbonyl poisoning: report of a fatal case. Jones CC. Arch Environ Health. 1973 May;26(5):245-8. PMID: 4696381
• Ab initio simulation of carbon clustering on an Ni(111) surface: a model of the poisoning of nickel-based catalysts.  Kalibaeva G, Vuilleumier R, Meloni S, Alavi A, Ciccotti G, Rosei R. J Phys Chem B. 2006 Mar 2;110(8):3638-46. PMID: 16494419
• Acute nickel carbonyl poisoning: a report of 179 cases. Shi ZC. Br J Ind Med. 1986 Jun;43(6):422-4.  PMID: 3718888
• Ann Occup Hyg. 2015 May;59(4):467-80. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/meu104. Epub 2014 Dec 15.  Human biomonitoring of chromium and nickel from an experimental exposure to manual metal arc welding fumes of low and high alloyed steel.  Bertram J1, Brand P2, Schettgen T2, Lenz K3, Purrio E3, Reisgen U3, Kraus T2.
• Am J Ind Med. 2010 Aug;53(8):763-7. doi: 10.1002/ajim.20855.  Pulmonary and systemic toxicity following exposure to nickel nanoparticles. Phillips JI1, Green FY, Davies JC, Murray J.
• Ann Clin Lab Sci. 1981 Jan-Feb;11(1):1-8.  Chelation therapy in nickel poisoning. Sunderman FW Sr.
• Ann Occup Hyg. 1994 Dec;38(6):921-30. Death following exposure to fine particulate nickel from a metal arc process. Rendall RE1, Phillips JI, Renton KA.
• Biol Trace Elem Res. 2016 May 5. Quantitative Evaluation of Heavy Metals and Trace Elements in the Urinary Bladder: Comparison Between Cancerous, Adjacent Non-cancerous and Normal Cadaveric Tissue.  Abdel-Gawad M1, Elsobky E2, Shalaby MM3, Abd-Elhameed M4, Abdel-Rahim M4, Ali-El-Dein B4.
• Biol Trace Elem Res. 2011 Feb;139(2):151-9. doi: 10.1007/s12011-010-8652-y. Epub 2010 Mar 5.  Oral mucosa patch test: a new tool to recognize and study the adverse effects of dietary nickel exposure. Picarelli A1, Di Tola M, Vallecoccia A, Libanori V, Magrelli M, Carlesimo M, Rossi A.
• Chemosphere. 2016 Apr;148:178-87. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.10.068. Epub 2016 Jan 22.  Effects of nickel exposure on testicular function, oxidative stress, and male reproductive dysfunction in Spodoptera litura Fabricius.  Sun H1, Wu W2, Guo J3, Xiao R3, Jiang F3, Zheng L3, Zhang G4.  4State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol & Institute of Entomology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. Electronic address: zhanggr@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
• Inhalational nickel carbonyl poisoning in waste processing workers. Seet RC, Johan A, Teo CE, Gan SL, Lee KH. Chest. 2005 Jul;128(1):424-9. PMID: 16002966
• Dermatitis. 2004 Sep;15(3):154-7.  Cutaneous and oral eruption from oral exposure to nickel in dental braces.  Schultz JC1, Connelly E, Glesne L, Warshaw EM.
• [First epileptic seizure induced by occupational nickel poisoning.  Denays R, Kumba C, Lison D, De Bels D.  Epilepsia. 2005 Jun;46(6):961-2. PMID:  15946340]
• Congenital abnormalities in nickel poisoning in chick embryos. Gilani SH, Marano M. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 1980;9(1):17-22. PMID: 7369783
• Sci Total Environ. 2014 Feb 15;472:354-62. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.032. Epub 2013 Nov 30. Associations of neonatal lead, cadmium, chromium and nickel co-exposure with DNA oxidative damage in an electronic waste recycling town. Ni W1, Huang Y1, Wang X1, Zhang J1, Wu K2.
• J Environ Monit. 2003 Apr;5(2):198-201.  Cigarette smoking and nickel exposure. Torjussen W1, Zachariasen H, Andersen I.
• J Occup Med Toxicol. 2016 Feb 20;11:7. doi: 10.1186/s12995-016-0095-8. eCollection 2016. Health status of male steel workers at an electric arc furnace (EAF) in Trentino, Italy. Cappelletti R1, Ceppi M2, Claudatus J1, Gennaro V3.
• Inhal Toxicol. 2010 Dec;22 Suppl 2:95-9. doi: 10.3109/08958378.2010.515269. Epub 2010 Oct 11.  Exposure to inhaled nickel nanoparticles causes a reduction in number and function of bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells.  Liberda EN1, Cuevas AK, Gillespie PA, Grunig G, Qu Q, Chen LC.
• Int J Epidemiol. 2015 Feb;44(1):240-8. Nickel exposure is associated with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Chinese adults. Liu G, Sun L, Pan A, Zhu M, Li Z, ZhenzhenWang Z, Liu X, Ye X, Li H, Zheng H, Ong CN, Yin H, Lin X, Chen Y.

Related observations

Healing observations

• Autoimmune diseases heavy metals and bacteria 006526
• Bioaugmentation process of secondary effluents for reduction of pathogens, heavy metals and antibiotics 023160
• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria) as Indicators of Geogenic Contamination of Flysch Soils in Eastern Slovakia 019200
• Dr Duke's list of Chelating activity for the Dog Rose 018090
• Dr Duke's list of chemicals and activity for the Shallot 017969
• Dr Duke's list of Plants containing NICKEL 021500
• EDTA chelation therapy and heavy metal poisoning 006200
• Heavy metal stress in alders: Tolerance and vulnerability of the actinorhizal symbiosis. 021021
• Heavy metals in Australian grown and imported rice and vegetables on sale in Australia: health hazard 021499
• Malic acid as a chelating agent 006176
• Meat, offal, heavy metals and minerals 005485
• Metals as a common trigger of inflammation resulting in non-specific symptoms: diagnosis and treatment 018229
• Nickel sensitization and dietary nickel are a substantial cause of symptoms provocation in patients with chronic allergic-like dermatitis syndromes 021498
• Physiological and proteomic responses of different willow clones (Salix fragilis x alba) exposed to dredged sediment contaminated by heavy metals 020524

Hallucination

• Toxins in eye shadow - Cosmetic companies 014503

Other observations

• Allergic reaction to Potassium dichromate - Pharmaceutical companies 014507