 | | Seven-month-old Sabrina reaches out to touch euro coins through a window in Munich. 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. [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 by a Swedish dermatologist and British laboratory scientist.Just five minutes of contact with one-euro (88 U.S. cents) and two-euro coins containing nickel alloy could trigger symptoms, including skin inflammation or itching, the study said. Earlier studies which tested French, British and Swedish coins containing nickel were also found to have the potential to cause nickel allergies, it said. Fifteen percent of all women and two to five percent 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.
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. 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. EU scientists, environmentalists, dermatologists and the nickel industry considered nickel allergy potential when the composition of the euro coins were 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. (Agencies) | 一項由瑞典皮膚病專家和英國科學家共同完成的研究表明，將于2002年1月份發行的歐元套幣中有兩種面值的硬幣鎳含量過高，可能會導致鎳過敏者患上手部濕疹。 該項研究表明，持續接觸1元面值（合88美分）和2元面值的歐元硬幣5分鐘，這兩種硬幣中所含的鎳合金就可能引發皮膚病癥狀，包括皮炎和皮膚搔癢。 早期的研究曾經對法國、英國和瑞典三國流通的含鎳的硬幣進行過測試，發現這些硬幣也可能引發皮膚過敏。 在工業國家中，大約有15%的婦女和2%-5%的男人特別容易患上鎳過敏癥。 在這項研究中，科學家將2元面值的硬幣在類似人類汗液的液體中浸泡了一周，以此來仿效人類在接觸到硬幣時的反應。 實驗結果表明，當人們手拿這種硬幣時接觸到的鎳竟然比科學家實驗得出的能夠引起過敏反應的最低鎳濃度高出30倍。 人們的手和這種鎳銅合金硬幣保持5分鐘接觸就會引起鎳污染。 普通消費者一般只是偶爾短時間接觸硬幣，但是許多售貨員，商店、銀行和郵局的收銀員因為工作原因卻要長時間和硬幣打交道。30%-40%的鎳過敏者會因此感染上濕疹和皮膚炎癥，最終他們不得不休病假，甚至更換工作。 當初確定歐元硬幣成分的時候，歐盟的科學家、環境學家、皮膚病專家和鎳制造商也曾經考慮過鎳過敏問題。 但是歐盟對珠寶、手表等直接與皮膚接觸的產品的鎳含量作了明確限制，卻沒有限制硬幣中的鎳含量。 (中國日報網站譯) |
Updated: 2001-11-30 01:00
