IS THAT stud in your navel giving you trouble? Can you no longer wear
earrings? That would not be surprising, say scientists in Finland, who have
shown that body piercing is probably causing a steep rise in allergies to nickel
across the Western world.
Nickel is already the most common cause of contact allergy in several
European countries. And exposure to the metal can cause lifelong sensitivity.
Sensitised individuals find many belt buckles, wristwatches, glasses frames and
jewellery impossible to wear.
European Union guidelines鈥攊n some countries enshrined into
law鈥攕ay that earrings are supposed to contain less than 0.05 per cent
nickel by weight and should not release more than 0.5 micrograms of the metal
per square centimetre of their surface area per week. But in reality, they often
exceed these limits鈥攅ven some billed as 鈥済old鈥� or 鈥渟urgical steel鈥�, say
Antti P枚nk盲 and Asta Ekman of the Helsinki City Centre for the
Environment.
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The researchers used several methods to test the nickel content of 66 ear
studs and earring backs imported into Finland from Germany, Sweden, Britain and
the US鈥攁ll of which were said to contain amounts of nickel well below the
EU limits. The first test they carried out was one used by most government
authorities, which involves swabbing an earring with a solution containing
ammonia and dimethylglyocime. This should produce a red colour if the metal
contains any nickel. None of the earrings tested positive.
However, when the researchers performed a variation of this test, in which
the earrings are exposed to artificial sweat for up to a week, 9 of the 66
pieces of jewellery tested positive. And when they used a different method,
atomic absorption spectrometry, 25 were found to exceed EU limits (The
Science of the Total Environment, vol 224, p 161). P枚nk盲 says
that the swab test for nickel has been giving misleading results. 鈥淚t鈥檚
useless,鈥� he says.
Subsequent studies, yet to be published, have shown that other types of
jewellery, intended for pierced tongues, cheeks and genitals, are even worse,
according to P枚nk盲. Eleven of 12 items tested exceeded EU safety
limits.
The EU directive was drawn up in 1994 but will not come into force in all the
member states until agreed tests are officially published鈥攕omething
everyone hopes will happen this year, says David Jarvis at the Sheffield Assay
Office, which carries out Britain鈥檚 emissions testing on nickel.
Adhering to nickel content and emissions limits will not always be easy,
however. 鈥淭here鈥檚 such a wide range of jewellery鈥攊t鈥檚 quite a difficult
problem for importers to ensure they meet those requirements,鈥� says Stephen
Carter, who works for LGC, an independent laboratory in south London. 鈥淭he best
way to solve it is for people not to use nickel.鈥�
P枚nk盲 warns that skin allergies triggered by nickel earrings and
studs can lead to further health problems. 鈥淚f you are allergic to one thing,
you鈥檙e more prone to get another allergy,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he threshold is lower.鈥� He
urges governments to introduce more stringent tests.