Euro Coins Could Cause Skin Disease

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.

Earlier studies of French, British and Swedish coins containing nickel found that those coins also have the potential to cause nickel allergies, it said.

Fifteen percent of all women and 2% to 5% of men in the industrialized world are prone to nickel allergy.

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.

Cupro-nickel is an alloy containing copper and nickel.

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.

``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.

Between 30% and 40% of nickel-sensitive people tended to develop hand eczema, an inflammation of the skin that could lead to sick leave or change of jobs.

EU scientists, environmentalists, dermatologists and the nickel industry considered nickel allergy potential when the composition of the euro coins was decided, the study said.

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.

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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